EPONINE:The Last Black Heir: PRISONER OF AZKABAN
by bloodrosered
Summary: The third book of Eponine's adventures. Sirius decides that it's time to leave Azkaban and take back the one thing he loves: his daughter, Eponine.
1. A Very Secret Meeting

EPONINE: The Last Black Heir

The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 1

A Very Secret Meeting

The North Sea roared loudly and the winds were terrible and strong and the rains poured down. The man sat in his cell, stroking a golden lock of hair. His long black hair was unkempt, his face was waxy, withered with misery, and he wore a tattered coat with a black and white striped prisoner outfit that was dirty and tattered. He had lots of tattoos. His favorite one was on his left forearm: a heart, a red rose rising from behind it, surrounding it with thorny vines. On the heart was a single name in elegant handwriting: EPONINE.

This was Sirius Black.

He sat in his prison cell, weeping. He'd suffered for twelve years for a crime he didn't commit and he left his daughter almost thirteen years ago with Dumbledore and he heard no news of her since he was arrested. He held the parchment along with a golden lock of hair close to his heart, as if he were hugging his daughter.

Every day, he imagined his little daughter with golden hair, blue grey eyes, and rosy cheeks. She had to be thirteen by now. Every day, he wondered how his daughter was doing and there was not a day in his life that he wanted to write to her, telling her that Daddy misses her and that Daddy would be back soon.

He decided that it was time to leave Azkaban and take his daughter back. He didn't care if he was a fugitive on the run. He didn't care if he was a criminal. Nothing was going to stop him from seeing her. Once he found his daughter, he vowed he would _never_ let her out of his sight, not even for one second. Not only did he vow to get his daughter back, but to avenge his friends that were murdered, even his beloved girlfriend, Jane. There was a traitor who had to pay for his crime.

(daddy is coming, 'Ponine. Daddy is coming)

He waited and made sure nobody was watching, even the dementors, the guards that guarded the prison, Azkaban. Once nobody was looking he transformed into a black dog and wriggled out through the bars. He picked up the only thing he had left of his daughter with his mouth: the birth certificate and the lock of hair.

The storm was strong and terrible tonight. But, not even a storm would stop a father from being with his daughter again. He jumped from the window and into the sea, clutching the parchment in his mouth. He swam and the terrible waves were going to force him to drown, but he didn't give up. He would be with his daughter again. He would die for his daughter, he would die trying to get to her…nothing could stop him.

(daddy is coming, 'Ponine)

Once he had reached the shores of England, exhausted and wet. He shook off his fur and then, dropped the birth certificate on the sand. It was slightly wet but still eligible and the lock of hair was still there, thankfully.

To be safe, he decided that it would be safer travelling as a dog rather than in his human form because he knew that everybody would be looking for him by now. He pictured his daughter: maybe similar to her mother, Jane, but she would have his blue-grey eyes. She would have long golden hair, rosy cheeks, same height as her mother and her smile.

He travelled to a little village called Hogsmeade. He had to first contact someone he could trust: his best friend. He could probably hide him somewhere safe and maybe give him some news on his daughter. He changed back into his human form and found some wet parchment in the trash. He cut his finger to use it as ink. He wrote:

Remus,

I am here in Hogsmeade. Please meet with me. Know of anywhere safe in Hogsmeade?

SB

Now to send it, but how? Thankfully, it was nightfall. He broke into a pet shop and stole an owl. It was reluctant at first to deliver the letter, but after feeding it an owl treat, it obliged. The owl flew off in the night and he watched it fly away.

The next few days, Sirius remained in his animal form. The world had already delivered news about that he had escaped from Azkaban, that he was a criminal, and that he was working for the Dark Lord. He just sat there patiently, waiting an owl to bring him a reply from Remus, ignoring all the rumors. There was a photo of him when they were taking his mug shot, screaming at hands held him back, screaming Eponine's name, sobbing.

By afternoon, he received the letter from Remus.

SB

Meet me in the Shrieking Shack. I guarantee you'll be safe.

Remus

By nightfall, he ran to the Shrieking Shack, carrying the only thing he possessed. He found his friend, Remus Lupin, with his back turned away. He turned around when he heard him approaching.

"You're here, Sirius," he said.  
He transformed into his human form.

"So good to see you, Remus," he replied.

"So, now that you're a fugitive on the run, Sirius, you know that everyone is looking for you."

"I'm aware of that. But I need someone to help me."

"What is it that you need from me?"

"My daughter. I've come to get my daughter. Her name is Eponine. The last time I saw her was thirteen years ago when I left her with Dumbledore. I have been sending letters to him since I left her in his care as well as money for her to have clothes and toys. But, when I was arrested, I never heard from him again. Azkaban stopped my letters from going out as well as the money. I believe they stopped Dumbledore's from coming in as well. I will not spend another day in that hellhole, waiting for my death. I will not die without seeing my daughter."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"I need you to find her. Meet with me on the night when the school term begins and bring me news of her. I need to know if she's alive and well."

"Well, now that you say this, I was offered a job at Hogwarts as a teacher. So finding her should be easy."

"Good. And I want you to make arrangements for me to see her."

"Sirius, it's too risky. You can't just waltz into Hogwarts. You'll be arrested in a heartbeat."

"I don't care. Nothing is going to keep me from seeing her. Not even the dementor's kiss is going to keep me from being with her."

"Well, I can't guarantee you anything, but I'll try to figure out a way you could see her. The other concern is, you haven't seen her in thirteen years, will she even know you?"

"I doubt she'll know me, but I will tell her when the time comes."

"Do you want me to tell her that you're alive?"

"Not just yet." He paused and reached into his pocket and held a sack of coins. "Oh. And get her a birthday present while you're at it."

Eponine was exhausted from a hard day's work. She had been mopping all the floors in Hogwarts from top to bottom. Snape yelled at her for the floor not being shiny enough for him to see his reflection and threatened her with a lashing if she didn't do it again. She complied without complaint.

Eponine was thirteen years old now. Of course, she was the skivvy of Hogwarts and had been so ever since she was five years old. She always complied and never complained.

Once in her tiny attic, which was in a tower right across from the tower where Trelawney's Divinitation class was taught, she was about to get ready for bed when five owls rapping at the window, holding parcels in their beaks and letters. One was a snowy white owl, the second one was a bedraggled brown owl who looked really exhausted, the third one was Camille, her screech owl that lived in the rafters (a birthday present from Hagrid two years ago), the fourth one was a barn owl (probably Hagrid's), and lastly a tawny owl that she didn't recognize.

She let the owls in and fed them owl treats and let them roost in her attic rafters. She was happy to see that they were letters as well as birthday presents from friends. She smiled and opened the first one, which was from Harry. It was a silver mirror that matched the silver hairbrush he gave her two years ago. The second present was from Ron, which was of course, was homemade fudge. Along with Ron's present was Hermione's, which was an elegant leather journal with an elegant letter E on the cover. Hagrid's was a hand-carved wooden flute.

The last one was wrapped in a dirty brown paper. She was suspicious of course. She sat on her bed and held the present, opening it with trembling hands as quietly as she could. Inside was a beautiful castle that stood on a sandy beach with blue waves. She saw a note fall out and it was also written on brown paper and what appeared to be blood. It read:

_Play me and remember._

What did this mean? She looked on the bottom of the castle and there was a gold wind-up key underneath the castle. She turned it once and sweet little bells began to play a tune that was too familiar to her…the one happy memory she had…

She closed her eyes and hummed it along with the music box…images of a man, smiling and bouncing her in his arms, long black hair and grey-blue eyes… Soon a voice began to sing…

_There's a kingdom by the sea_

_As far away as could be_

She couldn't remember the words after that. Soon, the music box stopped playing. Eponine still couldn't remember…what happened to that man? Where was he now? She had so many questions about her past that she didn't know where to begin.

The next day, Eponine was on her hands and knees, scrubbing the floor. She couldn't get that song out of her head that was playing on the music box. She hummed it as quietly as she could and got so into the song that she drifted away into a fantasy world.

_La, la, la, la…_

_There's a kingdom by the sea_

_As far away as could be_

_La, la, la…_

As she scrubbed the floor, she sang the verse over and over; it echoed throughout the castle. There were sounds of tiny bells being played in her mind. She saw her kingdom by the sea and there was a man waiting there for her, just like in all the memories she remembered. He greeted her with a hug and stroked her hair.

"Daddy loves you," he said.

"EPONINE!" yelled a voice that ruined everything. Snape, of course!

She snapped back to reality.

"Lazing about with our silly daydreams, are we?" he asked, sarcastically.

"Sorry," she said. "I just…I was distracted."

"Then, quit daydreaming and get back to work, you lazy girl!" he said. "Or the strap will be on your back."

She nodded and scrubbed the floor. She couldn't help but think of that music box that she had gotten just yesterday. She longed to play it again and at least try to remember what she could.

Once at her attic by nightfall, she went up the stairs and turned the music box on. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, in hopes that her dreams would bring her to her memories…


	2. Whispers, Rumors, and Dementors

Chapter Two

Whispers, Rumors, and Dementors

Eponine got up bright and early to start her morning with chores: making the beds in the dormitories, chopping wood for the fireplaces, clearing the cobwebs and dusting the Common Rooms, polishing the goblets, plates and utensils. The first day of September was tomorrow and she had a lot of work to do before the new students arrived. The only thing Eponine looked forward to when the new term started was seeing her friends again.

She hummed the tune from the music box and tried to remember the words, but they were just a blur.

"You, girl!" said Snape. "My office. Now!"

Eponine stopped sweeping and followed Snape into his office; he sat down at his desk and was writing on a piece of parchment with his quill.

"I need you to go to Diagon Alley and pick up supplies for me," he said. "And don't dawdle. I want you back here by sunset, before the students arrive."

She nodded.

"Here's what I need," he handed her a list of supplies. "Read it later when you're there. And here's some money to buy. And don't bother spending it on _any_ nonsense because I will count the leftover change."

She nodded again.

"Good. Now go!"

She went to the chimney to use the Floo Network. She grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and shouted,

"DIAGON ALLEY!"  
She dropped the Floo Powder in front of her and she felt that usual feeling of being sucked down a giant drain. She landed in the pub called The Leaky Cauldron. She stepped out and everyone stared at her: a dirty, pale and thin thirteen-year-old. However, they weren't staring at the usual way with looks of pity; they were staring at her as though they were attempting to study her.

Once at Diagon Alley, she carried a basket along with the list. Everyone in the streets stared at Eponine, similar to those in the Leaky Cauldron. Soon, there were whispers and shaking of heads and pointing. Eponine ignored them.  
"Poor child," they said.

Soon, a newspaper blew and landed at her feet. She knelt down and picked it up. Today's headlines were:

**ESCAPE FROM AZKABAN**

Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous wizard ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today.

"We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."

Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis.

"Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it—who'd believe him if he did?"

While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse.

Also, rumors are floating about that Sirius Black may have an illegitimate child. The Ministry of Magic is doing their best to find Black's child and make sure he/she is not found. However, the child's name and whereabouts remain unknown.  
"It is possible that Black is looking for his child and will want him/her back. But we will make sure that this child is as far away from this madman."

Eponine looked at the photo of Sirius Black, sitting on the bench. She looked at the sunken face, the shadowed eyes and the waxy, white skin as he held up his prisoner number, screaming. He looked so familiar…too familiar. Perhaps she had seen him before in a dream…but who knows? Dreams aren't real. She saw his lips were moving as if he were saying something…it was a single word, but she still couldn't make it out.

She shrugged and crumpled up the newspaper and stuck it into the basket.

"A child?" a witch said. "A bastard child! Who do you suppose the child is?"

"Who knows?" said a warlock. "A bastard child is definitely a shame to all wizards. Definitely a bad thing to have. It's extremely indecent to have illegitimate children, as if Muggle's have enough of them already. Children should be raised by married wizards. It's the moral thing to do."

"Who's the mother of the child?"

"Who cares? Probably some Muggle Black foolishly impregnated. You know Black's nature: finds a girl, shags her, and leaves her and picks up another."

Eponine felt terribly uncomfortable hearing this. She was a bastard child who was abandoned (perhaps) thirteen years ago by her father. Her mother, Jane, was killed by Lord Voldemort and her father disappeared, probably died years after he left her at Hogwarts. Of course, after her father disappeared/died, the Ministry of Magic wanted to take her to the poorhouse, where all poor, abandoned, illegitimate children went to work in the wizard world. They were not allowed to be educated or practice _any_ kind of magic until a family member claimed them. Most of the time, nobody claimed them because it was extremely stigmatic to be an illegitimate child. Children who lived in the poorhouse were treated horribly: beaten, starved, forced to work sun up and sun down; many of them were sick and dying.

Dumbledore, however, refused to let the Ministry of Magic take Eponine to the poorhouse. He said he would rather have Eponine work at Hogwarts, since he made a promise to Eponine's father to keep her safe. Snape was assigned as Eponine's magical guardian until the time came when a family member came to claim her and then, she would be released from domestic servitude forever. Still, she didn't understand of all people why Snape was chosen to be her guardian. She wondered whether the Ministry of Magic had done so or if Snape just decided to step in and volunteer to be her guardian.

She walked down Diagon Alley and pretended that the stares she was getting didn't bother her. She didn't have time. She had lots to do.

"EPONINE!" said a voice behind her. It was Hermione.

She whirled around and greeted her with a smile. "Hello, Hermione."

"What are you doing here?"

"Shopping. For the master," she said.

"Oh. Did you read today's paper?"

"Yea."

"Can you imagine? Sirius Black has a child?"  
"Yea."

Soon, Hermione was staring at Eponine's face.

"What? Is there something on my nose?" she asked, smiling.

"No," she said, smiling, slightly embarrassed. "I just didn't notice how grey your eyes were."

Eponine narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why are you looking at my eyes?"

"No reason," Hermione lied.

Eponine shrugged it off.

"Anyway, Ron and Harry are here. Would you like to say hello?"

"Um…sure. But I can't stay long. Got lots to buy."

"Oh. Well, how about we help you find your things? It'll go faster this way."

"OK. Thanks."

Eponine went to the Leaky Cauldron to say hello to Ron and Harry, who were delighted to see her. They too also gave the same stares as Hermione and some of the wizards in the street today.

"Why is everyone staring at me like that?" she asked.

"No reason," said Ron.

Eponine shrugged it off again. The four friends went down Diagon Alley and helped Eponine find all the supplies that she needed for Snape. Hermione was right: it did make it go faster with their help. If she had been alone, it would've taken her all day.

"So, what do you think about Black having a child?" Eponine asked.  
"I didn't know he even had one," said Ron. "I wonder who it is."

"What I don't understand is why everyone is making a big deal about it being illegitimate," said Hermione. "I mean, a lot of Muggles have children when they're not married."  
"Hermione, illegitimate children in the wizard world are not very well liked…families, friends and pretty much everybody turns their backs on you if you're an illegitimate child. It's extremely stigmatic and indecent, especially in pure-blood families. Some even say they're bad omens."

"_I'm_ an illegitimate child," Eponine blurted out.

Ron and Hermione stared with wide eyes. Harry didn't seem surprised; Eponine had told him that last year about it.

"You are?" said Ron. "How can you be sure?"

"Dumbledore told me. He said my parents never married when they had me."

"Well, I'm sorry if I offended you, 'Ponine," said Ron with a tone of guilt in his voice. "I…I didn't know."

"Apology accepted," Eponine said.

Once they had collected all of Eponine's supplies for Snape, they all went to the Leaky Cauldron just to have something to eat. Her friends offered to pay for her lunch and she gladly accepted. Soon, she met Ron's parents who were also staring at her strangely. Even Ron's brothers, Percy, Fred and George and his sister, Ginny were staring at her.

"Eponine," said Mr. Weasley. "May I have a word with you and Harry?"

"Sure," they said.

He took the two of them to a dark corner, making sure no one in earshot could hear them.

"Listen, some within the Ministry would strongly discourage me from divulging what I'm about to reveal to you two. But I think you two need to learn the facts. You're both in danger. Grave danger."

"Has it anything to do with Sirius Black, sir?" asked Harry.

"What do you know about Sirius Black, you two?"

"Only to have escaped from Azkaban," Eponine replied.

"Do you know why?" They both shook their heads. "Thirteen years ago, when you, Harry, stopped…"

"Voldemort," he said.

Mr. Weasley flinched. "Don't say that name."

"Sorry."

"When you stopped You-Know-Who, Black lost everything. But to this day, he still remains a faithful servant. And in his mind, you are the only thing that stands in the way of You-Know-Who returning to power. As for you, Eponine, Black knows you are the bearer of Flamel's Stone. You are the only one standing in the way from getting it. He needs the Stone to help You-Know-Who to return. And that is why he has escaped from Azkaban. To find the both of you."

"And kill us." Harry added.

"What about his child?" Eponine said. "The one they mentioned in the papers."

"Merely rumors," said Mr. Weasley. "The Ministry of Magic isn't even sure if Black has or had a child. Even if the child existed, they have no record of a birth certificate. But, if the child does exist, they are looking for the child to make sure it does not return to Black. He is a dangerous man. He may try to take it back, but they will not let him." He paused for a moment. "Harry, 'Ponine, swear to me that whatever you might hear, that neither of you will go looking for Black."

"Mr. Weasley," said Harry blankly. "Why would either of us go looking for someone who wants to kill us?"

Soon, Eponine said her goodbyes to her friends and went off to the castle. She kept wondering why everyone was staring at her today. It was as if everybody knew something that she didn't. It bothered her. She decided to get on the train to get back to Hogwarts; she had run out of Floo powder as well. Hopefully if she got on the train now, she would be back to Hogwarts by sunset.

Once she got off the train, it started to rain. Eponine's clothes began to stick to her and she huddled over the basket to keep the potion ingredients dry. Her shoes got soaked that it felt extremely uncomfortable walking in them and blisters formed on her feet that she barely limped towards the long path towards the castle. The heavy basket was slipping from her hands, but she didn't dare drop it. If so much as one vial was broken, the strap would be on her back the minute she walked in the door.

Eponine soon felt very strange; her heart was glowing sporadically. Soon, something floated from above. Eponine saw several things floating above her and soon, one of these approached her. It was a cloaked figure that stood ten feet high; its face was completely hidden beneath its hood, there was only a hole in the front. Its hands protruded from the cloak and it was glistening, grayish, slimy looking and scabbed, like something dead that decayed in water. It stared at her for a moment; Eponine felt every part of her body tremble. Soon, it drew in a long, slow, rattling breath as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings.

Eponine felt as though she was drowning in cold. There was a rushing noise in her ears as though of water. She felt as though she was being dragged downward, the roaring grew louder. Then, as though from far away, she heard a voice…

"EPONINE!" it screamed; it was high-pitched and terrified.

"Eponine!" said a voice. "Eponine!"

Eponine's grey-blue eyes opened slowly and standing there beside her was Professor McGonagall. She was soaking wet and covered in mud.

"Eponine! What on earth happened to you? Are you alright? Do you need to be taken to the hospital wing?"

"What…what happened?" Eponine said, weakly.

"I saw a light glowing outside. You know you shouldn't be outside this time. Not when it's dangerous."

"What? What were those things?"

"They were dementors. The Ministry of Magic has ordered them to look for Sirius Black on the grounds. Come with me, Eponine. We should go see Madam Pomfrey."

Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse fussed over Eponine.

"Setting dementors around a school," she muttered, pushing back Eponine's unkempt blonde hair and feeling her forehead. "Yes. She's all clammy. Terrible things, they are, and the effect they have on people who are already delicate…"

"I'm not delicate!" Eponine said, annoyed.

"Of course, you're not," said Madam Pomfrey absentmindedly, now taking her pulse.

Soon, Snape came in behind McGonagall. He was very angry: his cold, onyx eyes were glittering, his face was a nasty brick color and his nostrils were flared.

"What took you so long?" he demanded.

"Severus, that's enough," said McGonagall. "Eponine fainted on her way back to the castle. Madam Pomfrey is examining her right now."

"Here. Eat some chocolate," said Madam Pomfrey. "It'll help a lot."

Eponine looked at Snape with unsure, frightened eyes.

"Do what she says, you silly girl," he said, irritated.

She complied and ate the chocolate. She immediately felt the warmth in every part of her body. She insisted that she felt better and Madam Pomfrey allowed her to leave. Once out of the hospital wing, she returned the money and the items to Snape and he told her to go away, do work and not to bother him anymore. Eponine complied and went to work: she mopped the floor and set the tables in the Great Hall.

Soon, she joined her master in the Great Hall along with the other staff and she sat in her usual spot: on the floor, next to Snape like a dog. She was polishing his shoes in her hands and mending some robes.

Sitting next to Snape was a young man: he had brown hair, brown eyes and a mustache and had two scars across his face. Eponine supposed he was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year; she knew that every year they lost teachers for this particular position. She wondered why, but decided not to bother. She stared at him curiously…he too seemed familiar as well. She tried to remember where she had seen him before. She couldn't remember.

Soon a chorus of fifth year students entered with large frogs and one holding a drum. Professor Flitwick was conducting them. They began to sing:

_Double, double toil and trouble_

_Fire burn and cauldron bubble_

_Double, double toil and trouble_

_Fire burn and cauldron bubble_

_Something wicked this way comes_

_Eye of newt and toe of frog_

_Wool of bat and tongue of dog_

_Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting_

_Lizard's leg and owlet's wing_

_Double, double toil and trouble_

_Fire burn and cauldron bubble_

_Double, double toil and trouble_

_Fire burn and cauldron bubble_

_Something wicked this way comes_

_In the cauldron boil and bake_

_Fillet of a fenny snake_

_Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf_

_Witches' mummy, maw and gulf_

_Double, double toil and trouble_

_Fire burn and cauldron bubble_

_Double, double toil and trouble_

_Fire burn and cauldron bubble_

_Double, double toil and trouble_

_Fire burn and cauldron bubble_

_Something wicked this way comes_

The Great Hall burst into applause and the chorus went to sit at their seats. Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts stood up. Though he was old, he always gave an impression of great energy. He was often described as the greatest wizard of the age; Eponine respected him above all other professors.

Though, he cared about Eponine, his blue eyes seemed sad whenever he looked at her: it was a look he gave her that longed to help her, but couldn't. There wasn't much he could do to help her: she was out of his hands. She was now the responsibility of the Ministry of Magic and they, apparently, they had a strong dislike for illegitimate, abandoned children. They felt they didn't deserve to learn magic. Dumbledore felt the opposite: he felt all children, no matter who they were, should be able to study magic, but there was no way for him to persuade the Ministry of Magic. They didn't want to spend money or have the responsibility to pay for their education. They were too busy dealing with other things and didn't care for such matters.

"Welcome!" said Dumbledore, the candlelight shimmering on his beard that stood in a giant, golden owl podium. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Now I'd like to say a few words before we become too befuddled by our excellent feast." He cleared his throat and continued, "First, I'm pleased to welcome Professor R.J. Lupin who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Good luck, professor."

There was applause and Lupin stood up to be acknowledged. Snape also applauded, but his expression twisted on his sallow face was something that was beyond anger: it was loathing. Before he sat down, Lupin's eyes went directly towards Eponine and he too gave her the same stare as all the other wizards and witches and her friends did today. But this stare was different, it was as though he recognized her immediately.

"Second, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher has decided to retire in order to spend more time with his remaining limbs," Dumbledore continued. "Fortunately, I'm delighted to announce that his place will be taken by none other than our own Rubeus Hagrid."

There was some scattered applause, but it was tumultuous at the Gryffindor table. Hagrid sat in his chair applauding, completely unaware of what was going on. McGonagall elbowed him and whispered that Dumbledore was talking about him. He stood up, stupidly and drunk, knocking the table over, breaking his goblet.

"You!" said Snape, pointing to Eponine. "Clean that up!"

She obeyed and went to clean it up. While she cleaned, Lupin kept staring at her as though he were watching every move she made. This was extremely uncomfortable; she didn't like how everyone was staring at her today.

"Finally, on a more disquieting note," Dumbledore said. "At the request of the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts will, until further notice, play host to the dementors of Azkaban until such a time as Sirius Black is captured. The dementors will be stationed at every entrance to the grounds. Now whilst I've been assured that their presence will not disrupt our day-to-day activities, a word of caution: dementors are vicious creatures. They'll not distinguish between those they hunt and the one that gets in their way. Therefore, I must warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. It is not in the nature of a dementor to be forgiving." He paused. "But you know, happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times." He waved his hand over a candle and it went out. "But only if one remembers to turn on the light." He waved his hand over the candle and it lit again.

Soon as the feast was over, Eponine went to work, collecting the dirty dishes.

"Excuse me," said a voice behind her.

It was Lupin.

"Yes, sir?" she said in her most obedient voice as possible.

"Would you mind taking my things to my office once you've finished with this of course?"

"Yes, sir."

"Ah, Lupin," she heard Snape's voice from behind her. "I see you've met the Hogwarts' skivvy, Eponine."

"Eponine? Is that her name?" he said. "Well, all I asked is for her to take my luggage up to my office."

"Well, Lupin, just so you're aware, my servant is not to talk to anyone."

"Your servant, Severus? Ah, I see. Don't worry. I won't be doing much talking."

He turned away and Snape leaned and whispered into Eponine's ear, digging his fingers into her shoulder:

"Don't you _dare_ help him or you will rue the day you were born."

She nodded. Soon, she saw what looked like a flash of light. She blinked her eyes and tried to see where the flash came from, but it was gone.

She wondered why Snape didn't want Eponine to help this professor. It was obvious that he had something against him. Who knew?

Eponine carried logs up to the dormitories. She ran into her friends.

"Hey," they said.

"McGonagall told me you fainted," said Hermione. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Eponine said.

"I fainted too," said Harry.

"Something we have in common," she said.

"Cinder-soot!" said the bored, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy.

If there was anything Eponine hated, it was Draco Malfoy: cruel, cold grey eyes and blond hair and a pointed face. He absolutely enjoyed bullying Eponine.

"You fainted too? I mean you _actually_ fainted? I heard Potter fainted on the train and now you."

One of the Slytherins made a swooning sound. Some sniggered.

"And?" Eponine said. "I heard you wet yourself on the train."

"Shut up!" he said, his voice cracking.

"Yea, I thought so, piddle pants."

Ron and Harry were laughing, slapping their knees.

"I'll get you for that, Cinder-soot!" he said, red in the face. He turned away with the other Slytherins.

Eponine went back to work and went to bed after all was finished, exhausted.


	3. Talons, Trouble, and Trust

Chapter Three

Talons, Trouble, and Trust

Eponine woke up at the early hours of dawn to do her usual chores. She swept the Great Hall, polished the tables and went to collect shoes from the houses. The Slytherins were still worse than ever: they teased Eponine about her fainting, pulled hoods over and made eerie ghost sounds, and pelted her with shoes.

By around lunch time, Eponine went off to the Forbidden Forest to chop wood. She saw Hagrid in the woods, leading the students there. They had stopped at a bare spot in the woods and were stroking the spines of their books.

"God, this place has gone to the dogs," said Malfoy. "Wait till my father hears Dumbledore's got this oaf teaching classes."

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Eponine said.

"Well, well, well," said Malfoy. "Look what we have here. Little Miss Cinder-soot. Say, why don't you sleep with the pigs if you insist on smelling like one, Cinder-soot? And when was the last time you had a bath? A decade ago?"

The Slytherins laughed and some oohed. Eponine's face reddened slightly with both a mixture of hurt and rage.

"Leave her alone, Malfoy!" said Ron.

"Oh, look, everyone!" said Malfoy, sneering. "Cinder-soot's got herself a boyfriend. Are you two going to get married? You both have something in common: you're both poor and smell like pigs. I reckon you both could live in a one-room house."

Eponine rage built up inside her like a tea kettle that had been sitting on a stove for too long. But, she remembered the last time she got into a fight with Malfoy: his father ended up coming to demand that she be lashed in front of him by Snape. She was not willing to risk another fight.

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Harry said, coming to both their defenses.

Malfoy sneered and approached the four friends. The four friends, especially Harry was ready to fight Malfoy. Soon, Malfoy's face became scared and he yelled, "Dementor! Dementor!"

The Gryffindors turned around, terrified and saw that there was nothing. There was laughing so hard that tears were coming out of their eyes. Soon, the Slytherins pulled hoods over them and made eerie noises, laughing. Eponine began to walk away, rolling her eyes and muttering what idiots they were. Soon, Goyle stuck his leg out and Eponine tripped, causing her to fall face first on the logs she was carrying. She tasted blood in her mouth and found that she had split a lip. The Slytherins laughed even harder at Eponine.

"You dirty, rotten git!" Ron yelled, lunging at Malfoy.

"Hey!" Hagrid's voice boomed. "No fighting! Any more fighting and I'll be takin' points off!" That's when he saw the blood on Eponine's lips. "You alright, 'Ponine?"

"I'm fine," she replied, wincing from the pain.

She walked out of the woods with the freshly chopped wood; she wiped the blood with a dirty handkerchief; it throbbed and ached. Thankfully, she hadn't lost any teeth, but if she had fallen any harder, she would have. She left the wood in the wheelbarrow and did her best to stay away from Hagrid's class while he was teaching. She promised herself that she would stay as far away from Malfoy as possible this year.

While she chopped more wood, she could vaguely hear Hagrid's class going on. She would pause sometimes to listen.

"This is a hippogriff," said Hagrid. "First thing you wanna know about hippogriffs is that they're very proud creatures. Very easily offended. You do not want to insult a hippogriff. It may just be the last thing you ever do." He paused. "Now, who would like to come up and say hello?"

The entire class backed away, leaving Harry the only person there.

"Well done, Harry. Well done." He paused. "Come on. Now, you have to let him make the first move. It's only polite. So, step up and give him a nice bow. Then, you wait and see if he bows back. If he does, you can go and touch him. If not…well, we'll get to that later."

Eponine laughed slightly and silently. She went back to work, wiping the sweat off her forehead from chopping the wood.

Soon, there was shouting and the flapping of twelve-foot wings. There was a great object flew just barely missing her head. She looked up and saw that it was the hippogriff and Harry was on its back. She looked up and watched it fly around in the sky. It was beautiful and she envied Harry.

(this is what it's like to be free)

Soon, the hippogriff came flying back and landed gracefully at the site. There was a sea of cheers.

"Well done, Harry!" cheered Hagrid. "And well done, Buckbeak!"

"Oh, please!" Malfoy said.

He shoved through the crowd of people and approached the hippogriff.

"Yes," drawled Malfoy. "You're not dangerous at all, are you, you great ugly brute?"

"Malfoy, no…" Hagrid began.

It happened in a flash: there was angry squawking and a flash of steely talons. There were panicked screams and a sound of cloth and flesh ripping. Malofy fell backwards onto the ground, holding his arm and blood blossomed on his robes.

"Buckbeak!" said Hagrid. "Whoa, whoa, whoa…Buckbeak!" he said sternly. Then, he threw a dead ferret across the forest floor to shoo it away. "Away, you silly creature!"

"Oh, it's killed me! It's killed me!" Malfoy yelled; his voice went three octaves higher than his normal voice.

"Calm down," said Hagrid, panicking, his face went white. "It's just a scratch."

"Hagrid!" said Hermione. "He has to be taken to the hospital."

"I'm the teacher. I'll do that."

He picked up Malfoy, who was moaning in a way that he was either doing it in pain or just being dramatic.

"You're going to regret this. You and your bloody chicken!"

"Class dismissed."

Eponine smiled slightly; just hearing Malfoy scream like a girl and get hurt was the exact punishment he deserved.

The next day, Malfoy was swaggering into the Great Hall with his arm in a sling, covered in bandages, swaggering as though he survived a heroic battle. Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced, pug-nosed Slytherin girl was following him, fawning over him.

"Does it hurt terribly, Draco?" she simpered.

"It comes and it goes," he said, putting on a brave sort of grimace. "Still, I consider myself lucky. Madam Pomfrey said another minute or two and I could've lost my whole arm. Can't possibly do homework for weeks."

Eponine rolled her eyes in exasperation as she mopped the floor, carefully keeping her distance from her friends so there would be no suspicions.

"Listen to that idiot," Eponine said.

"He's really laying it on thick, isn't he?" said Ron.

"At least Hagrid didn't get fired," said Harry.

"Yea, but I hear Draco's father is furious," Hermione added. "We haven't heard the end of it."

"He's been sighted! He's been sighted!" Seamus Finnegan shouted excitedly.

"Who?" said another Gryffindor student.

"Sirius Black."

The Gryffindor students gathered around to read today's _Daily Prophet_.

"Dufftown?" said Hermione. "That's not far from here."

"You don't think he'll come to Hogwarts, do you?" said Neville Longbottom.

"With dementors at every entrance?" said Dean Thomas.

"Dementors?" said Seamus. "He's already slipped past them once. Who says he won't do it again?"

"That's right," said another Gryffindor student. "Black could be anywhere. It's like trying to catch smoke. Like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands."

Eponine stood on her tiptoes to read the article:  
**SIRIUS BLACK SIGHTED**

Sirius Black, the most infamous prisoner from Azkaban has been sighted in Dufftown by an astute Muggle. The Muggles think that he's just an ordinary criminal; yet they don't have a clue how dangerous, powerful and vindictive Black can be.

Eponine looked at the photo of Sirius Black; unkempt black hair, a mustache, hollows beneath his wild eyes, staring straight at Eponine. He was screaming as two hands held him back against a wall for his mug shot. His lips moved and spoke a single word in complete silence. She still couldn't make it out…what was it he was saying? What was that one word he was saying?

In Potions class, Eponine sat in her usual dark corner, polishing shoes. She would sneak a peak at the article about Sirius Black being sighted that she had saved inside her apron and hoped to read it later.

Malfoy came swaggering in late, of course and all Snape said was, "Settle down, settle down."

Today they were making a Shrinking Solution and Malfoy set up his cauldron next to Harry and Ron, so that they were preparing their ingredients on the same table.

"Sir," Malfoy called. "sir, I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots, because of my arm…"

"Weasley, cut up Malfoy's roots for him," said Snape without looking up.

Ron went brick red.

"There's nothing wrong with your arm," he hissed at Malfoy.

Malfoy smirked across the table.

"You heard Professor Snape, Weasley; cut up these roots."

Ron seized his knife, pulled Malfoy's roots towards him and began to chop them roughly so that they were all different sizes.

"Professor," drawled Malfoy. "Weasley's mutilating my roots, sir."

Snape approached their table, stared down his hooked nose at the roots and then gave Ron an unpleasant smile from beneath his long, greasy black hair.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Weasley," he said.

"I want Cinder-soot to cut up my roots," said Malfoy, staring at Eponine who was sitting in her dark corner. "She's much more elegant with a knife than Weasley."

Eponine rolled her eyes in exasperation; she knew this was his sick way of finding new ways to get her into trouble.

"You, girl!" he barked. "Get Malfoy new daisy roots and cut them up."

Eponine obeyed like an obedient dog; Malfoy smirked at her. She got the new daisy roots from Snape's storage closet and stood next to Malfoy and began to cut up his roots.

"Elegant with a knife," Eponine said, angrily at Malfoy so that Snape couldn't hear her. "I'll be elegant with a knife when I cut off your family jewels, Malfoy."

"Professor, Cinder-soot's threatening me," drawled Malfoy, his voice filled with malicious laughter.

Snape slapped Eponine in the back of the head with a book. She rubbed the sore spot and continued to cut up the daisy roots, muttering curses as softly as possible so that neither Snape nor Malfoy could hear. Soon, she felt something cold and slimy fall down the back of her blouse. She let out high-pitched shrieks and flailed wildly. The Slytherins were doubled over with laughter and Snape looked very livid that she had disrupted his class. A puffer-fish eye fell out at her feet and she stared angrily at Malfoy.

"What the bloody hell is your problem?" Eponine said; she shoved him that nearly made him fall out of his chair.

"Did you see that, Professor?" said Malfoy.

"How _dare_ you attack a student!" he yelled.

"He started it!" Eponine explained. "He put a puffer-fish eye down my shirt!"

"You will be soundly lashed later," he said, his eyes glittering dangerously.

"Sir, I need help skinning my shrivelfig because…"

"You, girl, skin Malfoy's shrivelfig. If you cause any more trouble and you'll rue the day you were born."

Eponine obeyed and stood next to Malfoy, fuming with rage. She wanted to strangle him after what he had done to her: humiliating her twice in one day by tripping her in the Forbidden Forest and dropping a puffer-fish eye down her back, making her look like a dancing fool. She skinned his shrivelfig in angry silence, breathing short, shallow breaths and her jaw tightened. Once she finished, she flung it in front of Malfoy without speaking.

"Is there anything your lordship needs?" she said sarcastically.

Harry and Ron snickered slightly.

"Slice up my caterpillars for me," he said, nastily.

She beheaded the caterpillar with a shaking, angry hand, imagining that she was chopping off Malfoy's head. He kept pinching her in the side, making her hands nearly slip.

"Why are you doing this?" Eponine said. "Why can't you just leave me alone, Malfoy? What in God's name have I ever done to you?"

"Father recently lost his job at the Ministry of Magic," he whispered. "And he told me it's your fault, you filthy little slut baby!"

Apparently, Ron and Harry had heard what he had said to her; Ron's eyes went wide with horror and Harry looked a bit confused. Eponine's grey-blue eyes went wide with rage and she slammed the tip of the knife into the table, just between Malfoy's fingers. He let out a yelp of terror and the knife made a loud noise that made everyone turn their heads towards them.

"What did you just call me?" she roared, angrily; the cauldrons trembled slightly at the sound of her voice.

"What's going on here?" Snape said, silkily.

"Malfoy provoked her, sir," said Ron, coming to Eponine's defense. "He called her a 'slut baby'."

"Silence, Weasley!" Snape snapped. He turned towards Eponine, his black eyes glittered dangerously while her grey-blue eyes glittered with anger. "Double lashing for your insolence."

After she was lashed, she stood in the Entrance Hall, mopping the floor with tears in her eyes. She was so angry at Malfoy for humiliating her.

"There you are, Eponine," said a voice. It was Professor Lupin. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Is there something you need?" she asked.

"Yes. I need you to bring up my luggage."

"Of…of course, sir."

She sprinted towards the luggage room and brought up Lupin's luggage to the third floor. Once she had opened the door, he had a tea kettle on the fire and had set up two tea cups on his desk. He told her where to put his luggage.

"Come, sit," he said. "I made some tea."

Eponine felt uncomfortable; she sat down with her head down, keeping as little eye contact as possible. She couldn't help but stare at the scars on his face.

"What's the matter?" he asked. "Are you frightened of me?"

Eponine shook her head no.

"Well, come sit down. It's just tea, not an interrogation."

Eponine reluctantly sat down, constantly worrying. Lupin poured the tea into her cup and Eponine touched the smooth china, worried her dirty fingers would ruin the clean porcelain.

"Is there something you want?" Eponine said, suspiciously.

"Actually," he said. "I would like to ask you some questions." Eponine felt uncomfortable again. She sipped her tea slowly.

"Of course," she said, her voice squeaked.

"First, I wanted to ask how long you have lived here at Hogwarts?"

"Thirteen years. Nine as a skivvy."

"So, you were five when you became a skivvy?"

She nodded. "Why are you interested?" she asked. "You looked at me very peculiarly that day at the start-of-term banquet in the Great Hall. It was like you knew who I was."

Lupin smiled. "I did. In fact, I met you once when you were a baby. You probably don't remember because you were too young."

"Oh…I believe so," Eponine replied. "I believe I do…remember you…at least I think…"

"My. Your memory is better than I thought it would be."

Eponine made a small, uncomfortable smile.

"When I first saw you, I recognized you immediately," Lupin said. "Your face is so much like your mother's, yet your eyes are just like your father's."

"You knew my parents?" Eponine said, interested now.

"Yes. I did. I sense you have so many questions about them, do you?"

"I do," Eponine said. "I just know what I know. My mother died when I was a baby. Lord Voldemort killed her and tried to kill me, supposingly…"

"And your father, what happened to him?"

"He left me here and then, he disappeared into thin air. I suppose he's either dead or he just abandoned me because he didn't want me." She paused. "How did you know my parents?"

"I went to school with them. I was very close to your father especially. Such a clever man he was. Ah, you would've loved him, 'Ponine."

"I wish I knew what he was like."

"Everyone with no parents often wonders what they were like. I'm sure your friend, Harry Potter, feels the same way."

Eponine realized what time it was.

"I'm sorry, Professor," she said. "I have to get back to work. Snape will be suspicious if I'm gone too long."

"Of course," he said. "If you want to talk some more, my office is always open."

"Of course, sir. And thank you for the tea."

As Eponine went to return shoes to the dormitories, she imagined the time she first saw her parents in the Mirror of Erised two years ago: her mother with blonde hair, brown eyes, and porcelain skin and her father with black hair, tall, handsome, with grey-blue eyes and a mustache. She wondered if they ever loved her, why her father left her, and what happened to him. Was he still alive?

Lupin waited until dark to leave the grounds. He went to the Whomping Willow and down the hole at its base. He walked down the underground path; he was worried about what would happen if he told him what he had found out so far.

He arrived at the Shrieking Shack.

"Remus," said Sirius in the dark corner. "Did you find her? Is she alive? How is she?"

"Sirius, my friend," said Lupin. "Relax."

Sirius Black relaxed. He had been waiting for days to hear news about his daughter. He had recently been sighted in Dufftown, searching for a good Christmas present for her. Once that stupid Muggle lady saw him, he knew it was too dangerous to travel in human form.

"As for your daughter, Sirius," said Lupin. "She is alive and well."

He let out a sigh of relief, so happy to hear these words. "Thank God."

"However…" he said with a tone of concern and sadness.

"What is it? Is she sick? Is she in trouble? Has something happened?" he said with worry.

"No. Eponine is fine. It's just that…there's something you don't know." He showed him a photograph that he took. Sirius stared at the photo and saw a terribly thin, pale girl with large, sad eyes dressed in tatters and covered with dirt, cleaning dishes off the long tables in the Great Hall. Sirius touched the photo of her and tears began to emerge from his grey eyes.

"Eponine has been working as a skivvy at Hogwarts for nearly nine years," Lupin continued.

"Eponine," Sirius whispered, his voice breaking. "My poor little girl."

"That's not all. The Ministry of Magic has assigned Severus Snape to be her magic guardian. He constantly abuses and starves her and he allows his students, Slytherin to abuse as well."

"What? Severus…abusing my daughter?" Sirius said, furiously. "Why that…how could Dumbledore let him do that to her?"  
"I'm afraid the matter is out of Dumbledore's hands. Eponine is an illegitimate child and the Ministry of Magic is responsible for her. But, they care little about children such as her. They don't believe that children like her deserve to study magic. From what I know, children like her are sent to poorhouses to work until they come of age and are sent out into the wizarding world to work. They don't study magic at all. However, if my assumption is correct, Dumbledore refused to let her go to a poorhouse."

"I'm taking my daughter home," said Sirius suddenly.

"Sirius! You can't just waltz into Hogwarts! It's too dangerous!"

"I don't care! I'm going there and I'm taking her home with me."

"Think, Sirius! You need to consider the risks: you'll be arrested again for kidnapping. The dementors will get you if you set foot in that castle. And Eponine is in the hands of the Ministry of Magic until a family member claims her.

"_I_ am her family. I'm her father! And I will take her home!"

"My friend, Eponine hardly remembers you. You need to give me more time to work with her. Let me at least tell her about you for a while. If it were you and your estranged parents came and just took you without saying anything, how would you feel?"

"I want to see her," said Sirius.

"No. I cannot let you do that. You need to wait!"

"I did my waiting!" he sobbed. "Twelve years of it! In Azkaban! Thirteen without seeing my daughter! My precious little daughter! My child! My poor, beautiful little girl! If that traitor hadn't told, Jane would be alive and I'd have my daughter! I was planning to ask Jane to marry me the day she died! Dammit, Remus! I want to see my daughter! Nothing is going to stop me! You'll have to kill me to stop me from seeing her!"

He breathed hard, shallow breaths as tears fell from his eyes. The mere thought of seeing his daughter ruined from abuse and labor devastated him.

"And once I get her back, I'm going to kill him! Kill him for taking my Jane and Eponine away from me! Kill him for putting me away for a crime I didn't do! Kill him for denying me a right to be a father to my child!"

Lupin saw how devastated his friend was: thirteen years without seeing his only child, spending twelve in prison for a crime he never committed.

"Fine," Lupin said, reluctantly. "You can see her, but stay in your Animagus form and keep your distance. Approach her when she's outside on the grounds. And do _not_ under _any_ circumstances try to enter the castle."

"Thank you, Remus," sobbed Sirius.

Sirius didn't sleep well that night; he kept dreaming of his poor little girl, all in tatters, sobbing, starving and beaten.

"Daddy!" she called.

"Daddy's coming, love!" he answered. "Daddy is coming!"

She was smiling as she ran to him, happy to see her Daddy. His eyes were filled with tears as he got closer and closer to her.

"Daddy!" she said, happily.

"Daddy's here, love."

But as soon as he reached for her, she disappeared like smoke. Sirius stood in the spot where his daughter had disappeared and he began to sob.

"NO! EPONINE!" he screamed, sobbing as his daughter disappeared like smoke.

He awoke covered in cold sweat. He couldn't do it! He didn't want to be so far away from his daughter. He wanted to be up close, close enough to put his arms around her and never let her go.

"Daddy's coming, 'Ponine," he whispered to the photo of her. "Daddy is coming."

He closed his eyes and heard the lullaby he had sung to her so long ago…

_There's a kingdom by the sea_

_As far away as can be..._


	4. The Flight of the Fat Lady

Chapter Four

Fight and Flight

Eponine had heard from the third-year students in Lupin's class talked about how the boggart assumed Snape's shape and the way that Neville had dressed it in his grandmother's clothes. Eponine herself couldn't help but snigger every time she sat in Potion's class in her little dark corner, imagining Snape in Neville's grandmother's clothes. Of course, Snape didn't find it funny. Whenever Eponine sniggered or so much as a smile spread across her face, he had an idea as of why she was laughing and would slap her on the back of the head or across the face to silence her and _still_ that didn't stop her from laughing until he threw her in the storage closet, locking her inside and promising her a lashing through the keyhole.

October had arrived. Eponine was outside, raking leaves in the courtyard in a ragged shawl. The weather was terrible though. It rained most of the time and Eponine would spend most of her time, mopping up the muddy floor while Filch gave her a nasty smile, making comments about how the floor was not clean enough. However, Lupin would come to her rescue and shoo Filch away.

Halloween came and it was the first weekend to visit Hogsmeade. The third years had already gathered outside in front of the Entrance Hall. Filch collected the permission slips and McGonagall stood on the steps to escort them; before they left, she gave a speech about the rules.

"Now remember," said Professor McGonagall. "These visits to Hogsmeade are a privilege. Should your behavior reflect poorly on the school in any way, that privilege shall not be extended." Soon, Harry approached McGonagall. "No permission slip signed, no visiting the village. That's the rule, Potter."

"All those with permission slips, follow me. Those without, stay put," say Filch with a nasty smile.

"I thought if you signed it, then I could…" said Harry.

"I can't. Only a parent or guardian can sign it," said McGonagall. "Since I am neither, it would be inappropriate." She paused and turned with an odd expression on her face. "I'm sorry, Potter. That's my final word."

Harry looked disappointed. He turned to Ron and Hermione.

"Forget about it, guys," said Harry. "I'll see you later."

They waved goodbye, leaving Harry alone on an empty entrance steps; silence overcame except for the 'tick, tock' coming from the large clock in the tower, the large pendulum swinging.

Eponine saw him and approached him.

"Harry," she said. "I heard that you couldn't go to Hogsmeade. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"If you know any secret passageways to Hogsmeade, then not really," he said, sadly. "Listen, I'm sorry about what happened in Potions yesterday with you and Malfoy."

"It's fine," Eponine said. "If I find any secret passages, I'll let you know."

"Thanks."

Eponine went to clean the stairs, sweeping them. She wanted to know so much about her parents; perhaps Lupin could tell her what he knew. She looked around to make sure that Snape wasn't around and went into Lupin's office. She knocked with a firm hand.

"Enter," said Lupin's voice from behind the door. Eponine entered with some reluctance, trembling like a frightened child. "Oh, hello, Eponine. Care for some tea?"

"I'd love to," she said, quietly; she looked behind her to see if Snape was lurking about.

She sat down slowly.

"Sir," she said. "I wanted to ask…what were my parents like?"

"Your mother, Jane, was a sweet woman, yet she seemed so sad and so lonely. Poor girl! Her parents died when she was very young. She was so pretty, your mother. Everyone called her 'Sweet Jane' because she was so kind and so pretty. However, Jane was a bit troubled when she was in her teens. She developed a, well, a damaging lifestyle, shall we say?"

"Someone once told me that she was, well…" Eponine was reluctant to say hurtful things about her. "You know."

"Understandable," said Lupin. "We don't want to remember our parents for what they did in the past."

"I do remember the night she died," Eponine said, sadly. "Her horrible screams, that flash of green light and Voldemort laughing and her falling. When I encountered a dementor just a month ago, I could hear her screaming my name."

"Well, dementors force us to relive our very worst memories. Our pain becomes their power." He paused. "Do you remember anything else about your mother?"

"Everything is still fuzzy with her. The only ones I remember best, the happiest ones are with my father mostly."

"Perhaps you have a stronger connection with your father."

"What was he like?"

"Your father," Lupin smiled. "He was tall, carelessly handsome, very intelligent…he did have a talent for trouble, just like Harry's father, James and quite a biting sense of humor as well." He laughed when he said this. "I see so much of them in you. You have your mother, Jane's sweetness, kindness and her beauty. Yet, there's so much of your father in you: your eyes glitter with impish defiance he once had."

Eponine bit her lip, near tears. "Really?"

"Yes."

Eponine sipped her tea and sat quietly. She wanted to know more about her father.

"Did my father ever love me?" she asked.

"He once said that he wouldn't trade you for a star in the sky. However, giving you up was probably the hardest decision he had made. After that, he spoke of nothing but you: how pretty you were as a baby. Whenever he got a letter from Dumbledore about how you were doing, he would sob with joy."

"Did he ever say why he gave me up?"

"Well, there were some, but I'm not even certain: one was that you reminded him too much of your mother. I have never seen a man so devastated with the fact that his love was dead. Another reason was he was worried that he might relapse to his old lifestyle. Otherwise, he never said why."

Eponine sat silently, hearing these words. She was delighted to hear that her father loved her. She wondered if he _still_ loved…if he was still alive…

"I'd better go, sir," Eponine said. "Thanks again for tea."

"Of course," said Lupin. "If you have any more questions about your parents, I'm happy to answer."

Eponine wanted to hear more stories about her parents in their youth. She wanted to know how they first met, their first kiss, when she was born…anything would suffice. Just to hear any story about her parents would do.

As she headed up the stairs with a loaded basket of recently finished shoes, she heard shouting: one was a woman's voice, which she recognized: it was the Fat Lady from the portrait of the Gryffindor tower. The other was a man's that she didn't recognize, but yet it sounded familiar…  
"Let me in, woman!" he yelled.

"No! No password, no entry!" the Fat Lady said.

"I _said_ let me in! I have to find him!"

"I won't let you! Not without the password."

Eponine was too frightened to even check it out; she hid in the shadows and listened.

"Then, have you seen my child? Do you know where in this castle she is?"

"Child? What child?"

"My child! She's lived here for thirteen years! Surely you have seen her! Don't you _dare_ lie to me, woman! I won't rest until you tell me where she is!"

"I'm not saying anything! And I won't let you in this dormitory either!"

There were terrible sounds of slashing and screams. Eponine knew something was terribly wrong and she _had_ to do something. She stepped out of the shadows and saw a large, black dog, standing in front of the portrait.  
Eponine grabbed a shoe and threw it at the dog with all the force in her arm.

"GET OUT! SHOO!" she yelled.

The black dog didn't listen. Instead it turned towards Eponine, snarling and growling. Eponine stared into its pale eyes, baring its inch long teeth. But, it stopped snarling and stared at her. It approached her slowly; Eponine trembled with terror as it continued to approach her. She slipped on the steps and fell on her bottom. She was too scared to even move.

Strange, it stared at her in a way that everybody had given her, but this was _much_ different: this dog stared at her as if it knew her. Was this normal dog behavior?

"HEY!" said a voice from the third floor. It was Lupin. "GET OUT OF HERE! GO ON! SHOO!" The black dog ran away at the sound of Lupin's voice and disappeared down a corridor. Lupin approached Eponine, kneeling next to her. "Are you alright, 'Ponine?"

She nodded, terrified as he helped her up.

"What…what was that dog doing in here? And how did it get in here?"

"I have no idea," said Lupin. "I'll make sure that it's gone and alert Dumbledore. You alert the Gryffindors not to come in here until the dormitory has been searched."

Eponine nodded. She saw that the Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait, which had been slashed so viciously.

Soon, Gryffindor students approached the portrait and Eponine told them not to go inside. They bombarded her with questions and she explained that the Fat Lady had disappeared. Soon, Gryffindors students began to jam up the stairwell to the portrait.

"Let me through please!" said Percy Weasley, the Head Boy of the Gryffindors. "Excuse me! I'm Head Boy." He turned to Eponine. "Thank you, Eponine. I appreciate you guarding the portrait until I have arrived. Your services are no longer needed." To the Gryffindors, he said, "Get back! No one is to enter this dormitory until it has been fully searched."

"The Fat Lady!" said Ginny Weasley said. "She's _gone_!"

"Serves her right," said Ron. "She was a terrible singer."

"That's not funny, Ron!" Hermione said. "Eponine! What happened?"

"The Fat Lady was attacked," she replied.

The neighboring portraits gasped with horror as they saw what had happened; a baby screamed in one portrait and a father went to cover the eyes of his daughters in another.

"Keel calm, everyone," said Percy. "Break into fours. Back to your common rooms."

"Make way!" said Dumbledore's voice from behind them.

"The Headmaster's here," said Percy. "You heard him, MOVE!"

Dumbledore came with Filch behind him, carrying his cat, Mrs. Norris and a lantern. Dumbledore looked at the ruined painting, his eyes were very somber.

"Mr. Filch," he said. "Round up the ghosts. Tell them to search every painting in the castle and find the Fat Lady."

"There's no need for ghosts, professor," replied Filch. "The Fat Lady's there." He pointed to a canvas and soon, all the Gryffindor students took off running in the direction where Filch was pointing.

"Mind where you're going!" Percy scolded. "Slow down! You listen! I'm Head Boy!"

Nobody seemed to hear what he was saying, of course. They were much too concerned about the Fat Lady. They approached a painting of an African savannah that contained large black hippos, basking in the sun.

"Dear lady," said Dumbledore. "Who did this to you?"

The Fat Lady stood up from behind a hippo, sobbing and whimpering. Her eye make-up were black streams flowing from her eyes.

"Eyes like the devil, he's got!" she sobbed. "And a soul as dark as his name! It's him, Headmaster. The one they all talk about. He's here, somewhere in the castle. Sirius Black!" She sobbed, terrified and hid behind the hippo.

Everyone gasped in horror.

"Secure the castle, Mr. Filch," Dumbledore ordered. To everyone else, "The rest of you to the Great Hall."

The alarms blared loudly; they sounded like a wolf howling. The gate dropped down in front of the Entrance Hall and the large door closed as well. Bars formed across the door to lock it in various sizes.

The Gryffindors were soon joined by the students from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, who all looked extremely confused. The staff was joined in the Entrance Hall.

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle," Dumbledore told the students. "I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I'm leaving Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbances should be reported to me immediately." Soon, he paused, about to leave and said, "Oh, yes, you'll be needing…"

One casual wave of his hand and the long tables flew to the edges of the walls; another wave and the floor was covered with sleeping bags.

"Sleep well," said Professor Dumbledore.

He turned to leave the Great Hall when Eponine ran to him with a pounding heart.

"Sir!" she said, breathless. "Sir! I must tell you something!"

Dumbledore looked over his half-moon eyes into Eponine's large, frightened eyes.

"I…I was there when the Fat Lady was attacked."

"What did you see? Did you see Sirius Black?"

"Well, no, sir…" she said. "Not really. I heard him though. He was arguing with the Fat Lady."

"What did he say?"

"He said he needed to get into the Gryffindor common room…he said 'I have to find him'." She paused. "Then, he said something about his child…said he was looking for her…" Her voice trailed away.

"You're sure he said this?"

She nodded, wetting her lips, terrified.

"Did you see him when he attacked the Fat Lady?"

Eponine wanted to tell Dumbledore about the black dog, but something inside her wasn't sure that dog had nothing to do with Sirius Black.

"No, sir. I think he ran away…"

"Eponine, I want you to stay inside the Great Hall," he said. "I will tell your master of your whereabouts. Don't leave the Great Hall and do _not_ return to your attic until the castle has been searched."

She nodded.

"Eponine," said Harry. "What did you say to Dumbledore?"

Eponine told them what happened, leaving the part out about the dog because she was too scared to tell him that.

"So, Sirius Black _is_ after me," said Harry.

"And he's looking for his child," added Hermione.

"But, if his kid is in this castle, then who could it be?" Ron said.

"I'm not sure," said Eponine. "It could be anyone."

"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" shouted Percy. "Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!"

"C'mon," said Ron. The four friends went together and seized sleeping bags and dragged them into a corner.

"Do you think Black's still in the castle?" Hermione whispered anxiously.

"Dumbledore obviously thinks he might be," said Ron. "If his child is here, he'd obviously try to linger looking for him."

"I think it was a girl," Eponine added.

They stared at her with wide eyes. "Are you sure?"

"He said, 'where in the castle is she?'"

"It's very lucky he picked tonight," said Hermione. "The one night we weren't in the tower…"  
"I reckon he's lost track of time, being on the run," said Ron. "Didn't realize it was Halloween. Otherwise, he'd have come bursting in here."

Hermione shuddered.

All around them, people were asking one another the same question: _How did he get in?_

"Maybe he knows how to Apparate," said a Ravenclaw a few feet away. "Just appear out of thin air, you know."

"Disguised himself, probably," said a Hufflepuff fifth year

"He could've flown in," suggested Dean Thomas.

"Honestly," Eponine said. "Has _no one_ ever read _Hogwarts, A History_?"

"I have," Hermione said.

"Of course you have," Eponine said. "This castle is protected more than _walls_, you know. There are all sorts of enchantments on it, to stop people from entering by stealth. You can't just Apparate in here."

Ron and Harry stared wide eyed.

"Honestly, 'Ponine, you've _got_ to get out of this castle," said Ron.

"Eponine's right," said Hermione."And I'd like to see the disguise that could fool dementors. They're guarding every single entrance to the grounds. The'd have seen him fly in too. And Filch knows all the secrets passages, they'll have them covered…"

"The lights are going out now!" Percy shouted. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"

Eponine climbed into her sleeping bag, which was in an isolated corner and she stared at the night sky, admiring the stars.

(i wouldn't trade you for a star in the sky)

Soon, Dumbledore returned to check on the students. It was almost three in the morning. Filch, Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, and Snape returned to the Great Hall. She listened, pretending to be asleep.

"I've searched the Astronomy tower and the Owlery," said Filch. "There's nothing there."

"Thank you," said Dumbledore.

"The third floor is clear too, sir," said Professor Flitwick.

"Very good."

"I've done the dungeons," said Snape. "No sign of Black, nor anywhere else in the castle."

"I really didn't expect him to linger," said Dumbledore.

"Remarkable feat, don't you think?" said Snape. "To enter the Hogwarts' castle on one's own completely undetected."

"Quite remarkable, yes."

"Any theories on how he managed it?"

"Many. Each is as unlikely as the next."

"You may recall, prior to the start of terms I expressed concerns about your appointment of Professor L…"

"Not a single professor inside the castle would help Sirius Black enter it," Dumbledore said; his tone made it so clear that the subject was closed that Snape didn't reply. "I'm more convinced the castle is safe and I'm more than willing to send the students to their houses."

"What about Potter? Should he be warned?"

"Perhaps. But for now, let him sleep."

"And Eponine? Black is surely after her. Especially that Stone she wears. I always believed it was merely a rumor that this Stone existed. I've heard about its extraordinary powers, but clearly it doesn't seem to show any outward effects on her."

"Of course. Let her sleep as well. For in dreams, we enter a world that's entirely of our own. Let them swim in the deepest ocean or glide over the highest cloud." He paused. "As for the Stone, its powers don't have any effect on her."

"And his child? Do you think that's why he came?"

"The child is safe, Severus," said Dumbledore. Then, his voice was sad. "I knew this day would come that he would return to look for his child. Yet, I do feel responsible in some way…"

"What do you mean?"

"Thirteen years ago, when his girlfriend was murdered, Sirius Black left his child with me, asking me to care for her until he found a safer place for the both of them. I promised to send him letters about his child and he would send me money. On the day of his arrest, his letters were returned and I had lost contact. The Ministry of Magic informed me of Black's arrest and imprisonment. As you know, letters to convicts are cut off in Azkaban."

"It wasn't your fault, Headmaster," said Snape. "There was nothing you could do. The matter was out of your hands. It's the Ministry of Magic's responsibility, not yours."

"I know," he said, sadly.

"DAMMIT, SIRIUS!" Lupin yelled. "Do you have _any_ idea what you have done?"

"I came for one reason," Sirius yelled. "I came to find my child and that traitor scum that killed my Jane and denied me the right as a father!"

"Sirius, you fool! I told you not to go in the castle! You almost got yourself caught! If you pull a stunt like that again, you may never see her again." Lupin calmed down. "Sirius, my friend, you need to be patient. Just keep your distance until the time is right when you will meet."

"I'm sorry," said Sirius, sadly. "I just had to see her. Any father who hasn't seen their child in years would've done the same thing. I…I couldn't believe how much she had grown since the last time I saw her." He wept for a moment when he saw his daughter, all ruined from abuse and labor. "My poor, little girl."

"Sirius," said Lupin. "I understand you want to see her, but please be patient. Once I have told her about you, she'll want to see you."

"Alright, my friend," he said. "Just promise me you will tell me everything about her as well."

Lupin nodded and embraced his sobbing friend.


	5. The Christmas Present from No One

Chapter Five

The Christmas Present from No One

The school talked of nothing but Sirius Black for the next few days. The theories about how he had entered the castle became wilder and wilder. But the wildest rumor of all was about his child: they all asked who was.

The Fat Lady's ripped canvas had been taken off the wall and replaced with the portrait of a knight named Sir Cadogan, who brandished a large sword that was twice his size. Nobody was very happy about this. Sir Cadogan spent half his time challenging people to duels, and the rest thinking up ridiculously complicated passwords, which he changed at least twice a day.

Eponine was a bit annoyed as well, especially when she had to go into the Gryffindor to either pick up shoes that needed to be polished and drop off shoes that were already polished. But, he was kind to Eponine, calling her 'milady'.

However, Sir Cadogan was the least of her problems. The students were staring at her like the wizards did at Diagon Alley. It bothered her even more. Even teachers stared and some found excuses to walk next to her. Professor McGonagall summoned her and Harry Potter into her office, with such a somber expression on her face as though someone had died.

"There's no point in hiding it from you two any longer," said McGonagall in a very serious voice. "I know this will come as a shock to you, but Sirius Black…"

"We know that he's after us," said Harry wearily. "Ron's dad told us both."

McGonagall seemed very taken aback. She stared at them for a moment or two, and then said, "I see." She warned them to be careful, especially at night.

Yet, the only thing she had to look forward to was tea with Lupin. She kept them as short as possible since she didn't want Snape to suspect that she was lazing about from her chores. She wanted to hear more stories about her parents. Lupin was delighted whenever Eponine came in the door and told about their school days while Eponine sat, listening with a smile on her face and her grey-blue eyes glittering with happiness. Since their first encounter, it was the only thing she enjoyed and the thought of hearing more stories was exciting.

Eponine swept the floor near the third floor corridor where the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was in hopes to wait until the class got out and she would sneak in and have tea with Lupin while he told stories.

"What are you doing here?" said a silky voice behind her, which she knew too well.

Eponine's stomach lurched uncomfortably. She saw Snape standing there, looking very suspicious.

"Just…just cleaning, sir," she replied.

"You've been cleaning this floor a lot lately for the past few weeks," he said, his voice was dangerous and he narrowed his eyes that resembled slits with black dots. "You seem to be cleaning this floor every time Lupin's classes get out."

Eponine felt her stomach sink deeper, feeling uncomfortable.

"Going to have another little chat with your new friend?" he said; his eyes glittering as if he knew what was going on. Eponine said nothing, but stared defiantly. "Don't think I don't know what's going on."

"I'm not doing what you think I'm doing," she replied. "I'm cleaning this floor like you always tell me to do."

He still didn't believe her; he stared at her with skepticism.

"I'm sure you are." He paused, leaning in so that his hooked nose pressed against hers. "But if you are lying to me, I promise that you will rue the day you were born."

Eponine didn't answer nor did she dare answer.

"Get in," he said, grabbing her by the collar and dragging her into the classroom. "Sit!" he shoved her into the back of the classroom into a dark corner.

He walked up the middle of the aisle, waving his wand to the windows and they shut. Soon as he reached to the front of the class, he pulled the chord to drop the white screen. He stared at the class with glittering black eyes.

"Turn to page 394," he said, softly.

The class looked very confused, the class opened their books. Eponine was sure it was on a topic that they hadn't covered in class.

"Excuse me, sir," said Harry. "Where's Professor Lupin?"

"It's not really your concern, is it, Potter?" he replied, with eyes glittering as though he dared to ask a question. "Suffice to say that your professor finds himself incapable of teaching at present time. Turn to page 394." He tapped his wand onto a slideshow camera and it turned on a bright light. The screen lit up blank at first. He spotted Ron slowly flipping through his book and he irritatingly waved his wand to flip him to the assigned page.

"Werewolves?" he exclaimed.

"But sir," said Hermione, who again appeared out of nowhere. "We just began learning about red caps and hinkypunks. We're not meant to start nocturnal beasts for weeks."

"Quiet," he said, coldly.

"When did she come in?" Ron whispered to Harry. "Did you see her come in?"

"Now, which one of you can tell me the difference between an Animagus and a werewolf?" The slide show began and photos of werewolves devouring humans or fighting humans appeared on the screen.

Everyone sat in motionless silence; everyone except Hermione, whose hand, as it so often did, shot straight into the air.

"No one?" he said, ignoring Hermione's hand. "How disappointing."

"Please, sir," said Hermione. "An Animagus is a wizard who elects to turn into an animal. A werewolf has no choice. With each full moon, when he transforms, he no longer remembers who he is. He'd kill his best friend if he crosses his path. Furthermore, the werewolf only responds to the call of its own kind."

Malfoy made a howling noise, making the Slytherins laugh.

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy," said Snape, coolly. "That's the second time you've spoken out of turn, Miss Granger. Are you incapable of restraining yourself or do you take pride in being an insufferable know-it-all? Five points from Gryffindor." He paused. "As an antidote to your ignorance, and on my desk, Monday morning, two rolls of parchment on the werewolf, with particular emphasis of recognizing one."

"Sir, it's Quidditch tomorrow," Harry protested.

He leaned in towards Harry.

"Then, I suggest you take extra care, Potter," he said. "Loss of limb will not excuse you. Page 394." He turned his attention to the class. "The term, werewolf is a contraction of the Anglo-Saxon word "wer" meaning man and wolf. Werewolf, man-wolf…"

Soon, Malfoy blew a paper bird towards Eponine and smirked at her. She opened the paper and saw an animated drawing of herself and Malfoy pelting her with a shoe and the word bubble appeared that said in large letters:

SLUT BABY!

"There are several ways to become a werewolf: they include being given the power of shape-shifting, being bitten by a werewolf…" Snape continued.

Eponine crumpled the paper up and threw it at Malfoy's head with her lips tightened and her eyes glittering angrily.

"Sir," Malfoy said. "Cinder-soot here threw paper at me."

(you just can't shut your gob can you?)

Snape whirled towards Eponine's direction. He was very angry now; he stared at his defiant servant who disrupted the class. All eyes were on her.

"He started it," she said. "He called me a 'slut baby' again!"

"I did not!"

"You did too!"

However, he didn't believe her. He grabbed her by the ear and dragged her to Lupin's office.

"If you'll excuse me," he said. "I need to deal with this defiant, little brat."

He slammed the door and soon, all hell broke loose:

"How dare you, you insolent girl!" he shouted, showering her with blows while she screamed. He shoved her on the floor and she crawled backwards into a corner, terrified with eyes filled with tears. He was about to deliver more blows, when he stopped and stared at her with a face of loathing, similar to the one he gave Lupin at the start-of-term banquet.

"You're just like your father," he said, softly. "A defiant, spoiled brat. Well, well, well. I guess the apple certainly doesn't fall far from the tree." They stared at each other; Eponine's eyes were glittering with a mixture of tears and defiance.

"You don't know anything about my father," she replied, smoothly.

"Oh?" he said, sarcastically, raising his eyebrows. "Is that what your new best friend, Lupin told you? How Daddy was a good man?"

"He didn't say anything to me," she said.

"I'm sure he did," he replied. "Dear, dear. If only your father could see his little girl now: his little princess in rags." He smiled nastily.

Soon, he made Eponine face the wall and she heard the clink of a belt buckle and soon, the strap was on her back. She bit her lip hard, refusing to scream, but tears managed to force their way out.

After her lashing, Eponine came out, being dragged out by the shoulder by Snape and he shoved her into a dark corner. Malfoy was smirking at her and made a crybaby face, mockingly.

Eponine was so angry that she decided that it was time to teach Malfoy a lesson. She concentrated on Malfoy's shoelaces…she could taste the wool and dye and elastic that held it together. Slowly, the laces began to untie from the bow to tying themselves together: the left tied itself to the right shoelace. She did the same with Crabbe and Goyle's shoes.

Soon as the Defense Against the Dark Arts was over, Malfoy got up to walk and when he took a step, he fell down along with Crabbe and Goyle on top. The entire class laughed hysterically; Malfoy was crushed beneath his two cronies.

"GERROFF ME!" he yelled as he was crushed.

"SILENCE!" Snape yelled. Everybody went quiet. His black eyes glittered angrily. "Who did this?"

The room was silent as a tomb.

"When I find out who did this, I will make sure they're personally expelled for this," he said.

Eponine was shooed out of the next class. She wondered where Professor Lupin was; she longed to hear more stories about her parents. Yet, she was worried that Snape would eventually find out what she was doing. She was sure that Snape had asked all his Slytherin army to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't sneak off to Lupin's office. Hopefully, once he returned, she would tell him about how she couldn't see him anymore.

XXXX

The Quidditch match was on Saturday. It was Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff. Eponine was forced to stay on the grounds to do work. Snape stuck around to make sure that Eponine didn't sneak off to Lupin's office, sometimes showing up unexpectedly.

The weather was terrible, of course. It was pouring rain. She went outside to haul more wood from the woods to bring to the dormitories. She got soaked from head to foot, plus she wait until the wood was dry enough to start a fire.

While gathering more wood in the Forbidden Forest, she thought something hiding in the shadows of the woods. The noise of a branch breaking frightened her. She shook it off and continued to work…then, there it was…the large, black dog that she had encountered in the castle when Sirius Black attacked the Fat Lady. It stared at her. Eponine was frightened. Something about this dog…something about it didn't feel right…it had shown up twice…

Soon, a horribly familiar wave of cold swept over her, inside her…at least a hundred dementors, their hidden faces staring at her, came behind her. The dog leapt out of the bushes and stood in front of Eponine, growling and snarling; its ears down and fangs exposed, ready to attack, protecting her…Eponine was confused: this dog certainly didn't behave normally: first it stared at Eponine on the day the Fat Lady was attacked as though it recognized her and now it was protecting her.

Soon, the dementor drew a long, rattling breath again, looking Eponine straight in the eye…and then, she heard it again…someone screaming, screaming inside her head…a woman…

"EPONINE!" a woman's voice screamed.

"_Expecto Patronum_!" a voice said.

XXXX

Eponine woke up in the hospital wing, wet and covered in mud. Madam Pomfrey fussed over Eponine, feeding her bar after bar of chocolate. Sitting by her bed was Lupin; he looked worried at first and then a smiled appeared on his face when he saw her wake up. He looked extremely tired and his robes were shabbier than her clothes.

"Good," he said. "I knew you would wake up. You are strong…like your father."

"Sir? What…what happened?"

"The dementors came into the grounds; they aren't supposed to. They attacked you when you encountered that black dog. I shooed them away. I informed Dumbledore about what happened to you and he was furious. He said they showed up at Harry's Quidditch match as well and he sent them straight off. But, I'm glad you're alright. Here, eat this." He handed her some chocolate. "It helps. Really."

"Thank you, sir," Eponine said. She ate the chocolate. "Sir, why do the dementors affect me so, more than anyone else?

"Listen," said Lupin. "Dementors are amongst the foulest creatures to walk this earth. They feed on every good feeling, every happy memory until a person is left with nothing but their own worst experiences. You are not weak, 'Ponine. The dementors affect you and Harry most because you have true horrors in your past. Horrors that nobody could scarcely imagine. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm scared, sir."

"I'd consider you a fool if you weren't," he replied. "Are we still going to meet for tea again?"

"I'm afraid I can't," she replied, sadly. "Snape is getting suspicious about my whereabouts nowadays. He'll beat me if he finds out that I'm talking to you. But, I really want to hear more stories about my parents."

"Well, Eponine," he said. "We'll find a way to keep you from getting caught. I enjoy your company very much. How about this: I'll have you do work in my office and that way no one can suspect you aren't doing any work."

"I think Snape has his clone army watching me as well," Eponine said.

Lupin laughed. "Yes, I quite agree. They are most certainly like Snape."

XXXX

December rolled around. Eponine polished the tables, smiling slightly; she looked forward to Christmas this year since she had been friends with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Yet, it was hard being a skivvy for she always had to hide her presents beneath the floorboards under her bed so Snape wouldn't find them. She would only take them out whenever she was alone in her room.

Snape sent her to run errands to Diagon Alley on Christmas Eve. She travelled through the Floo Express, carrying her empty basket, wrapped in her tattered shawl; the icy wind blowing through her tattered dress, making her shiver.

While walking down the snowy streets, she would stop for a few minutes and stare at the items in the windows, especially the candy shops, pressing her face against the window, imagining herself stuffing her face with those delicious candies. She would leave and go to the potions shops and collect supplies on Snape's list, keeping track of the time. By the time she was finished, the basket was sagging from the weight of supplies. She struggled to carry it up the street, slipping on ice occasionally. She passed a shop and saw a beautiful hair comb that had a rose made out of real rubies and the leaves surrounding it were made with real emeralds; the jewels and the silver teeth of the comb glittered in the light.

She touched a hand to the window and sighed, knowing it was something that she knew she wouldn't get for Christmas. Sure, her friends got her presents, but this was too expensive (20,000 Galleons the sign read).

She walked towards the Leaky Cauldron to use the Floo Express, carrying her heavy basket and shivering in the cold, unaware that a black dog that was hidden in the alley had been watching her.

Christmas morning came and Eponine woke up at her usual time to bring wood to the dormitories. She went to the Great Hall to clean the tables and have them ready for Christmas morning breakfast.

"EPONINE!" said Ron. "You got a present!"

"I did?" she said, confused.

She walked over towards the Gryffindor table and there was a small box on the table. It was wrapped in gold paper. There was no note on the present, yet she opened it with trembling, dirty fingers. It was a velvet box and she opened it slowly. Inside was the beautiful silver hair comb with a red rose made of rubies and the leaves were made of emeralds that she had been looking at in the shop. She felt tears welling up in her eyes and was too afraid to touch this delicate beauty.

"Whoa!" said Ron. "Who got you that?"

"I don't know," she whispered.

"Ron, those are real rubies and emeralds," said Hermione, staring open-mouthed at the present. "Who would get you such a present?"

"I…I don't know…" she whispered, admiring its beauty.

"I bet it was Lupin," said Ron. "He seems to like you a lot, 'Ponine. You've been sneaking in his office a lot lately."

Eponine was forced to laugh. "If Lupin had this much gold, he'd buy himself some new robes. And we just meet for tea and talk about stuff. As for the sneaking in his office, we just have tea and talk about…well, stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Hermione asked, suspicious.

"My parents," she admitted. "He said he knew them and I wanted to know more about them."

"I'm not so sure about this," Hermione said, slowly. "It's a bit odd, isn't it?"

"So what?" said Ron. "It's a present, for God sake! Who cares who got it for her?"

"Well, Harry got that Firebolt for Christmas. And now Eponine's got a hair comb made of real rubies and emeralds. Both of these gifts are really expensive. And who'd send them something as expensive as that and not even tell them they'd sent it? Don't you find that suspicious?"

"No. You're just being stupid, Hermione."

Hermione did have a point. Who would send her an expensive gift? She stared at it, admiring it and the gems glittered in the candlelight.

XXXX

Eponine went outside to haul more logs inside the castle for the dormitories; her dress was covered in bark, snow and lichen.

"Eponine!" called McGonagall.

"Yes, Headmistress?" she said.

"I need to see you in my office, please."

"Yes, ma'am."

She held the logs tightly in her arms and followed McGonagall; the whole walk to her office made questions bubble in her mind: why would McGonagall want to see her?

"Have a seat, please," she said. "You can put those logs down."

Eponine placed the logs on the floor next to her seat and sat down.

"Did I do something wrong, Headmistress?" she asked.

"No," she said. "Miss Granger has just informed me that you have been sent a Christmas present from an anonymous sender."

"Yes, ma'am," she said, quietly.

"May I see this present, please?" Eponine reached into her apron pocket and pulled out the velvet box and slowly placed it on her desk. McGonagall opened the velvet box and examined the hair comb carefully from the jeweled rose to the silver teeth. "Hmm. And there was no note at all, Eponine? No card. No message of any kind."

"No, ma'am," she replied, blankly.

"I see…well, I'm afraid I will have to take this, Eponine."

"But…why, Headmistress?"

"It will need to be checked for jinxes. Of course, I'm no expert, but I daresay that Professor Dumbledore and Professor Flitwick will strip it down…"

"Strip it down?" She stared at McGonagall as though she had gone mad.

"It shouldn't take more than a few weeks," McGonagall reassured her. "You will have it back if we are sure it is jinx-free."

"There's nothing wrong with it!" Eponine insisted. "Honestly, Headmistress…"

"You can't know that," McGonagall replied, quite kindly. "You are not to have this until we are certain that it has not been tampered with. I shall keep you informed."

Eponine looked defeated. The one present that she truly loved was out of her reach now. She nodded, sadly.

"Don't fret, 'Ponine," she said. "I promise you it will be exactly the same."

Eponine went to the Gryffindor tower with tears in her eyes and she placed logs in the fire place.

"Eponine?" said Hermione's voice behind her. "I'm sorry…"

"What did you go running to McGongall for?" she demanded, angrily.

"Because I thought—and Professor McGonagall agrees with me—that that hair comb was probably sent to you by Sirius Black."


	6. Father's Letters

Chapter Six

Father's Letters

Eponine knew that Hermione meant well, but that didn't stop her from being angry with her. She had the best Christmas present in the world for a few short hours, and now, because of her interference, she didn't know whether she would see it again. Eponine was positive that there was nothing wrong with the hair comb now, but what sort of state would it be in once it had been subjected to all sorts of anti-jinx tests?

Even Harry and Ron were furious with Hermione too. Eponine guessed it was because McGonagall had confiscated his Firebolt. Hermione, who remained conviced that she had acted for the best, started avoiding the three of them and took refuge in the library.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder why Sirius Black would send her an expensive hair comb. She had heard that he was after her necklace from both Mr. Weasley and Snape. But, why give her a Christmas present if he wanted her Stone?

Soon, there was another trip to Hogsmeade on the very last weekend of the term. Snape and his clone army kept an extra close watch on Eponine to make sure that she didn't sneak off to Lupin's office. Malfoy was made second in command; he make sure she didn't sneak off, which was terrible because he was sneering at her as he lurked around the corner, murmuring 'slut baby' under his breath as he walked by. Eponine did all she could to keep herself from strangling Malfoy.

"Eponine," said Lupin. "Would you mind bringing up some logs? My office is very cold."

"Yes, sir," she replied.

She knew that was the signal to go to his office so they could have tea and talk more. She was so excited to hear more stories about her parents. She hauled the logs up the stairs and went inside, making sure that there was no Snape or Slytherins lurking about in the halls.

He sat down, looking a bit concerned. "Eponine, there's no easy way to say this, but I have made an astonishing discovery…"

Eponine looked confused. "What is it, sir?"

"It's about your father."

"My father?" she said, confused.

"Yes. I just found out that your father is alive."

"He's alive?! Really? But, how?" she said, dumbstruck as though lightning had just hit her.

"I asked the same question. He contacted me just recently. He has also asked me to give you this." He handed her an envelope with Eponine's name written on it.

She stared at the weather-worn envelope curiously. She opened it with trembling hands and read, hearing his voice as she read:

_My dearest Eponine,_

_I am sorry for not contacting you sooner. I have been away for a long time due to unfinished business I had to attend to and it's quite difficult to send mail when you're stranded on an island in the North Sea. Just this summer, I was found floating on a raft by a Muggle military ship. Once I arrived at the base, I immediately contacted my old friend, Remus Lupin and asked him to find you. When he told me that you were alive and well, it was the best news of my life. Since I had been stranded on that island, I thought of nothing but you and how much I wanted to see you again. Seeing you again would be the greatest joy of my life. _

_I would like to see you again. If not, I'll understand why. I'm sure that you are angry at me for leaving you for such a long time. I am truly sorry for leaving you, my precious. It was the most difficult choice for me to make, but know that I love you very much and have ever since I left you. I promise you that I am coming. I'm a bit delayed getting to you as of now._

_Please send a reply to Lupin so that we can arrange to meet. As of now, I'm not sure when we should meet. Once I have arrived, I will contact you again and Lupin and I will make arrangements as of where and when we should meet._

_I love you, my precious. _

_Your loving father_

_P.S. Did you like your birthday present?_

So, her birthday present wasn't from some stranger, it was her father! And he was alive! She was so overwhelmed, she didn't know what emotion to express. His voice sounded so sincere in his letter when she read it over and over. A tear fell on the word 'father' and it smudged the ink.

"I…I don't know what to say," she said, quietly.

"Well, do you want to see him?" asked Lupin.

"I…I don't know…" she said. "I would like to meet him…I suppose…his letter sounds so sincere…I actually believe him after you told me all those stories about him and my mum. And he sent me a birthday present…but, after all those years of not sending me a word that he existed sort of bothers me…" She lost her train of thought.

"Eponine, it hasn't been easy for your father," said Lupin. "Being stranded on a godforsaken island in the middle of the ocean for all those years…I suppose that the very thought of you was the only thing that kept him alive."

Eponine stared at the letter again, she could hear there was sincerity in his voice and how sorry he was.

"Alright," she said. "I want to meet him then. But I want to write the letter."

Lupin handed her parchment and a quill. She wrote:

_Dad,_

_I would like to meet you. However, I am angry that you left me for so long. But, reading your letter and imagining your voice, I could hear how truly sorry you are and how sincere you were to want to meet me. I have so many questions about you and Mum that I want answered. Lupin has provided me with a lot of information about you. When we meet, I want all the answers to my questions._

_Thank you for sending me a birthday present. It was lovely._

_Sincerely, your daughter,_

_Eponine _

Lupin sealed the envelope.

"I'll make sure this gets to him as soon as possible," he said.

"Thank you," she said. "Also, thank you, sir, for finding my father and telling me these stories about him. You have no idea how much it means to me."

"I'm sure your father would love to hear that his daughter would like to see him."

Late at night, Eponine was in the kitchen, finishing up the Christmas feast dishes. Once they were finished, she sat down and read the letter over and over, hearing her father's voice. She dreamed when they would meet for the first time after thirteen years: how handsome he would be, how he would hug her tightly and free her from Snape. She smiled at the thought of it.

December faded into January and January faded into February. For those three months, there was no change in the weather. The cold drafts blew into Eponine's attic and the snow would put out her fire. She desperately wanted her hair comb back that she got for Christmas. It was the best Christmas present…so what if it was from Sirius Black? Perhaps Sirius was an old family friend or something…but it still didn't answer the question as of why he would give her something like that? She would go to Professor McGonagall to ask for news of the hair comb after her Transfiguration class.

"No, Eponine, you can't have it back yet," Professor McGonagall told her the twelfth time this happened, before he'd even opened her mouth. "We've checked for most of the usual curses, but Flitwick believes the comb might carry a Mind-Controlling Hex. I shall _tell_ you once we've finished checking it. Now, please stop badgering me."

Eponine hung her head, sadly. She nodded and whispered, "Yes, Headmistress. I'm sorry to bother you."

She left her classroom.

Next week, she received another letter from her father and she sobbed tears of joy when Lupin delivered it to her.

_My dearest Eponine,_

_To hear your reply has brought me great happiness and joy. I have long waited this moment to hear you say that you want to see me after so long. I understand that you are angry and you do have questions. I will answer them as much as possible. When Lupin told me what had happened to you for the past nine years that you have been a skivvy at Hogwarts, I wept. The thought of seeing you, ruined from the labor and abuse, has made me both angry and sad. Once I come, I promise that Snape will never harm you again. _

_Don't fret, my precious. I will be here soon. Just hold on. Daddy will be here soon. I promise. _

_I love you, my precious. _

_Daddy_

Eponine hid her letters under the floorboards. She would read them again and again at night, imagining the sound of his voice from so long ago as she could remember. She would write replies and sneak them to Lupin's office while hauling logs to his office.

She got another reply from her father, her eyes distracted on his words, hearing his voice that she ended up running into McGonagall on the stairs.

"Do watch where you're going, Eponine!" she said.

"I'm sorry, Headmistress," she replied.

"I've been looking everywhere for you. Well, here it is, we've done everything we could think of, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it at all. It looks like someone out there genuinely cares about you very much."

She handed the black velvet box back to Eponine. She opened it and inside was the rose hair comb, just as when she opened it on Christmas. Eponine's jaw dropped.

"I can have it back?" she said weakly. "Really?" Tears were flooding her eyes.

"Seriously."

Eponine tucked it into her apron pocket along with her father's letter. She was happy to have her present back. She was daydreaming that she didn't see Hermione coming her way. Once she saw her, she was about to run in the other direction, but Eponine called to her.

"Listen, Hermione, I'm sorry for getting mad at you…you know, the whole thing about the hair comb…I know you meant well and I was such a bitch…"

"Just forget it," she said, smiling.

"So, shall we call a truce and be friends?"

"Absolutely."

They shook hands, smiling and the two friends were reunited once again.

They bumped into Malfoy; her letter and velvet box fell out of her pocket.

"Well, well, well," Malfoy sneered. "If it isn't Cinder-soot, the slut baby."

"I told you to stop calling me that!" she said, sharply.

"What's this?" he said, snatching the box and the letter.

"GIVE IT BACK!" she yelled.

He opened the box and stared at the hair comb and examined the glittering gems.

"Cinder-soot's got a present. How very nice. Plan to wear it to your wedding when you marry the chimney-sweep?"

Crabbe and Goyle laughed. He opened the letter.

"My dearest Eponine," he began, mockingly reading the letter. "Awww…Cinder-soot's got a lover."

"You're an idiot, Malfoy! It's not from my lover, it's from my Dad."

"Oh…really?" he sneered. His eyes were slits like a snake that had just found a nest of baby birds. "Your Daddy? Been practicing with your new best friend, Lupin, on how to greet your Daddy? Did Daddy also send you this present for his precious?" They laughed.

"No," she said. "The present is from Sirius Black."

Malfoy's face fell for a moment. "Why…" Then, it returned to a smile. "Perhaps Professor Snape would like to know about this."

"NO!" she begged. "Please don't tell him!"

"I think I will," said Malfoy. "I think he needs to know what you've been doing, other than lazing about from your work to meet with your best friend."

"Leave her alone, Malfoy!" said Hermione's voice from behind Eponine.

"Or what?"

"I'll tell McGonagall if you don't give her stuff back to Eponine. NOW!"

Malfoy scoffed and said, sarcastically, "Like I'm going to listen to a filthy little Mudblood who's on the side of a filthy little slut baby."

Eponine was so angry. She wanted her possessions back and he insulted her best friend and called her that name she hated so much…mind waves began to pulse inside her brain and she looked at Malfoy, focusing on his weight. Soon, Malfoy began to levitate off the ground.  
"Hey!" he screamed. "Put me down! Put me down!"

Crabbe and Goyle grabbed his arms to pull him down, but they too were levitated off the ground as well. They screamed panicked screams. Hermione was laughing. They levitated about five feet in the air; they were grabbing onto each other, terrified.

"Take your stupid letter and present!" He threw them on the floor. "Just get me down! I hate heights! I promise I won't say anything to Snape!"

Eponine smiled and let them drop. They fell with a thump: Crabbe and Goyle on top of Malfoy, crushing him.

"GERROFF ME!" he grunted, shoving them off. He ran away, terrified.

"Malfoy!" called Goyle. "Wait for me!"

Hermione was laughing as well as Eponine.

"Gave them quite a scare, didn't you?" she said.

"Yea. I kind of wish I didn't," Eponine replied. "I don't really want anyone to know about my powers. Only you, Harry, Ron and Dumbledore know about them."

Late at night, after finishing the dishes, Eponine sat in the kitchen, reading her father's letter. She felt tears well up whenever she read them. She was so happy.

"Eponine," said Snape's silky voice. "What are you doing, lazing about?"

"I…I finished the dishes, sir," she replied, hiding the letter behind her back. "Just about to go to bed, that's all."

"What's that you got there?" he said, suspiciously.

"Nothing, sir," she said; her heart was pounding.

"Oh, really?" he said. "Mr. Malfoy informed me of something interesting."

"Really?" she replied, pretending not to be surprised.

"He said that you had received a present from Sirius Black. Is that true?"

"I only said that to shut him up," she replied.

"Indeed." He eyed her up and down; his jet-black eyes were narrowed suspiciously. "Turn out your pockets."

Eponine stared. Her heart pounded loudly and fast.

"Turn out your pockets!" he said, sharply.

Eponine pulled out the velvet box along with her father's letter. He opened the box and looked at the hair comb.

"Sirius Black gave you this?" he asked.

She said nothing.

"Why ever would Sirius Black give a lowly, useless skivvy a present? What is it about you that interests him?" He paused, his lip curled into a sneer. "I daresay he's trying to compensate for something. Perhaps to make up for lost time?"

"What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"If I were you, I'd watch my tone." His voice was dangerously soft and his eyes were glittering angrily.

Soon, he opened the envelope and found a blank piece of paper inside. Eponine was surprised as he was to find nothing on the paper. What happened to her father's writing? Where did it go?

"What is this?"

"Just a blank parchment," she said, with a shrug.

"Really?" he said. "Why don't I just throw it away?" He turned towards the fire.

"NO!" she said.

"Oh? So this does mean something to you? Dear, dear, what could it possibly be?" He tapped his wand to the letter. "Reveal your secrets."

He handed the blank paper to Eponine. Ink began to appear on the paper.

"Read it!" he said.

"Mr. Padfoot has nothing to say to Professor Snape except…" she paused, nearly choking on her breath.

"Go on," he said in a voice that was dangerously soft and his eyes glittering as though daring her to say something that would give him an excuse to beat her.

"Except to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business," she finished, nearly laughing.

"Why you insolent, little worm!" he said, angrily between his gritted teeth. He slapped her across the face.

"You will be soundly lashed for your dishonesty as well," he replied. "And I will confiscate this so-called present from your dear 'friend', Sirius Black."

After being lashed, Eponine went up to her bed, sore and sobbing. She was an angry at herself for not hiding the hair comb sooner. The one prize she loved was now gone forever. God only knows when she would get it back. She was worried as well that Snape might find more letters and her birthday present from her father. She moved them from under the floorboards from her bed and placed them under the floorboards of a rotting, broken armoire.

She laid down on her dirty pillow with a sore back, dreaming about her hair comb…


	7. Shadows, Trials and Tunnels

Chapter Seven

Shadows, Trials and Tunnels

Spring came. The snow melted away into silvery springs, flowers and grass came up from the snow. Leaf buds began to form on the trees. Still, it was wet outside and the students trailed mud in the castle, which Eponine had to clean.

Eponine was worried that Snape might search her room to look for any illegal contraband that she might be hiding. She decided that the letters and the music box would be safer in Lupin's office and he was happy to help. He promised her that he would return them once Snape had calmed down.

Still, she was sad that her hair comb was taken away. Knowing Snape, she was sure she would never see it again. She sighed as she went to collect laundry in the Gryffindor tower. Ron walked past her, dragging with him a bed sheet, looking upset.

"What happened?" asked Eponine.

"That cat…" he stammered, angrily. "That is the last straw!" He strode over to Hermione "LOOK!" he bellowed. "LOOK!" he yelled, shaking the sheets in her face.

"Ron, what…?"

"SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!"

Hermione was leaning away from Ron, looking utterly bewildered. Eponine came over and saw that there was something red on it. Something that looked horribly like…

"BLOOD!" Ron yelled into the stunned silence. "HE'S GONE! AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?"

"N-no," said Hermione in a trembling voice.

Ron threw something down onto Hermione's rune translation. They leaned in forward and lying on top of the weird, spiky shapes were several long, ginger cat hairs.

Later that afternoon, the four of them went to see Hagrid. Ron was scowling at Hermione.

"It's a beautiful day," said Hermione.

"Gorgeous," said Ron sarcastically. "Unless you've being ripped to pieces."

"Ripped to pieces?" said Harry. "What are you talking about?"

"Ronald has lost his rat," Hermione said, irritated.

"I haven't lost anything!" argued Ron. "Your cat killed him!"

"Rubbish!" she said.

"Harry, you've seen the way that bloodthirsty beast of hers is always lurking about. And Scabbers is gone."

"Well, maybe you should learn to take better care of your pets!"

"Your cat killed him!"

"Did not!"  
"Did!"

"Did not!"  
They argued the whole way down to Hagrid's; Eponine and Harry rolled their eyes.

Hagrid was in the lake, skipping rocks. He was wearing a gigantic, hairy brown suit and a very horrible yellow polka dot and orange tie.

"How did it go, Hagrid? The hearing?" Eponine asked.

"Well, first off, the committee members took turns talking about why we were there," Hagrid began. "So, I got up, did my piece. Said Buckbeak was a good hippogriff, always cleaned his feathers. And then, Lucius Malfoy got up. Well, you can imagine. He said Buckbeak was a deadly and dangerous creature who would kill you as soon as look at you."

"And then?" asked Hermione.

"And then, he asked for the worst, did old Lucius."

"They're not sacking you, are they?" asked Ron.

"No, I'm not sacked." Soon, there were sobs. "Buckbeak's been sentenced to death!" He threw his stone in the water and sobbed.

"That's not fair," Eponine said. "We were there when it happened! Can't you ask for an appeal?"

"There's nothing you can do," said Hagrid. "You know the Committee, they're all in Lucius's pocket, they're all too scared of him…" He continued to sob.

They stared silently; they wished there was something they could do to help, but they knew it was useless.

Soon, as the sun set, Eponine snuck into Lupin's office to retrieve another letter from her Dad. She sat there, reading and absorbing word after word. She was so happy after reading her father's letter that she longed to hold onto them and read them by candlelight in her room over and over again, but she was sure that Snape would be looking for any contraband that he might find, sticking his abnormally large nose in places that was none of his business. Eponine giggled silently at the thought of the magical letter saying these words.

She headed back to her attic. It was dark already. While walking down the corridor, she saw a white light. Someone was out of bed. She heard voices say,

"Put that light out!"

"Sorry."

She decided to be quiet and hid behind a tapestry that hung on the wall.

"Eponine?" said a voice that came from around the corner. It was Harry. She came out from her hiding place.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked, surprised.

"I saw you coming," he said, pointing to a large piece of parchment.

"What's that?"

"A map that Fred and George gave me."

"Can I see it?"

She looked at the map and saw two pairs of feet standing: one said EPONINE BLACK and the other HARRY POTTER.

"Whoa," she said. "I've never seen anything like this…look at the detail in this…it's very specific…not like any map I've ever seen. How does it work?"

"It not only shows the whole castle, but it shows everyone as well, where they are, and what they're doing, every minute of every day."

"What are you doing down here, anyway?"

"Looking for someone."

"Who?"

He pointed to a pair of feet on the map with a sign that said PETER PETTIGREW that were walking towards them.

"Who's that?" she asked.

"Someone who's supposed to be dead," he replied. "Sirius Black killed him years ago."

"Are you sure he's dead?" Eponine said. "But, if this map shows everyone and Peter Pettigrew is dead, then he wouldn't show up on the map."

"Exactly."

"So, where is he?"

They looked at the map and saw Peter Pettigrew's feet started to walk towards the two of them, slowly at first and then faster. Harry and Eponine looked around, Harry held out his wand, looking in the dark for any sign of Peter Pettigrew…but there was no one in front of him. Soon, Peter Pettigrew's feet went around Harry and Eponine's feet. Harry let out a yell of terror and saw it was just his reflection in the mirror. Eponine's heart leapt at the sound of his yell.

He pointed his lit wand in the direction Pettigrew was running and looked down the hall to look for Peter Pettigrew. He was not there either.

"Where did he go?" Eponine asked.

"He's gone. He went around that corner," Harry said, pointing in the direction of his wand.

"Watch it there, boy!" said one of the portraits.

"We're trying to sleep here!" said another.

"Yes, we are!"

Harry lowered his wand away from the portraits.

"That was scary," Eponine said, shuddering.

"I know," he said. "Did you see anything?"

She shook her head no.

"Do you suppose he's invisible or something?"

Harry shrugged. "No. It shows everyone even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak."

Soon, Eponine's face went white. "Oh, _shit_!" she whispered.

"What is it?"

She pointed to a pair of approaching footsteps that were coming around the corner with the word SEVERUS SNAPE floating above it.

"Shit! Get rid of this! Put the light out!" she whispered, panicking.

"Mischief managed," he said. "_Nox_."

Soon, Snape lit up his wand and stared suspiciously at the two of them; he pointed his wand right at Harry.

"Potter! Eponine!" he said. "What are you two doing here, wandering the corridors at night?"

"I…" Harry began.

"He was sleepwalking," Eponine interjected. "I found him here and I warned him that if he didn't get back to his dormitory, I would tell someone. But, poor thing! Had no idea he was here. So, I slapped him in the face to wake him up."

Snape narrowed his eyes suspiciously; his black eyes were slits with dots.

"It's true, sir," said Harry, going along with Eponine's lie.

"How extraordinary you two are like your fathers," he said. "They, too, were exceedingly arrogant. Strutting about the castle."

Eponine's mouth opened, but Harry elbowed her in the ribs to silence her. He didn't want her getting into any trouble.

"Our dads didn't strut," he replied. "And nor do we. Now, if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you could lower your wand."

Snape's black onyx eyes were still narrowed and they glittered. He lowered his wand and saw a bulge in Harry's sweatshirt pocket.  
"Turn out your pockets, Potter," he said.  
Harry didn't move, staring, terrified.

"Turn out your pockets."

Harry slowly pulled out the parchment and showed him with a forced impassive face.

"What's this?" he asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Spare bit of parchment," he replied, with a shrug.

"Really?" He turned to Eponine. "You know anything about this?"

She shook her head no. "No, sir," she replied with the best straight face as possible.

"Open it, Potter," he ordered. He touched his wand to the blank parchment. "Reveal your secrets."

He moved his wand away and soon ink began to appear on the parchment. He looked at Eponine and pointed his wand at her.

"You, read it!"

Eponine cleared her throat and began to read:

"Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs offer their compliments to Professor Snape and…" she paused when she saw the next message; her throat went dry and tightened, leaving her unable to speak.

"Go on," Snape said, in a voice that was dangerously soft and his eyes glittering as though daring her to say something that would give him an excuse to beat her.

"And request that he keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business," Eponine said, snarffing a laugh.

He slapped her across the face; it echoed throughout the corridors and some portraits were woken up, startled at the sound. Slowly, a large, red handprint appeared on her cheek.

"There's more," said Harry.

"Read it," Snape said.

"Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that became a professor and a guardian for his daughter and requests to stop abusing her," he read.

Snape froze. Harry and Eponine stared, dumbstruck, at the message. But, it didn't stop there. More writing appeared beneath the next message.

"Mr. Moony agrees and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git," he continued to read.

It would've been very funny if the situation hadn't been so serious. And there were the last words Harry read…

"Mr. Prongs and Mr. Wormtail bid Professor Snape good day and advise him to wash his hair, the slimeball."

"Why, you insolent, little…" he said, between his gritted teeth, his face twisted angrily.

"Professor!" said Lupin's voice in the dark.

Snape whirled around in Lupin's direction.

"Well, well, Lupin," he said, sarcastically. "Out for a little walk in the moonlight, are we?"

Lupin looked in Eponine and Harry's direction. The light illuminated the scars on his young face and his tired, blue eyes.

"Harry, 'Ponine, are you two alright?" he asked.

They nodded.

"That remains to be seen," said Snape. He snatched the parchment out of Harry's hand. "I just confiscated a rather curious artifact from Mr. Potter. Take a look, Lupin. Supposed to be your area of expertise. Clearly, it's full of dark magic."

Lupin read the notes and laughed slightly.

"I seriously doubt it, Severus," Lupin said, mildly. "It looks as though it is merely a parchment designed to insult anyone who tries to read it. I suspect it's a Zonko product." Snape went to reach for it, but Lupin tugged it away. "Nevertheless, I shall investigate any hidden qualities it may possess. It is, after all, my area of expertise. Harry, 'Ponine, would you two come with me, please? Professor, good night."

"You!" he said to Eponine, grabbing her by the tattered blouse. "You are not going _anywhere_!"

"Severus," said Lupin. "I assure you I'm only warning your servant as to be more careful."

"Anything you have to say to her, you can say in front of me," he said.

"It'll only be a few minutes, Severus. I'm sure Eponine is a faithful servant and will return. Won't you?"

She nodded. Snape let go of Eponine's blouse, reluctantly and gave her an icy stare. Eponine followed Lupin with large eyes. What would he say to her?

"Are you deaf?" said a portrait. "Put that light out!"

Snape walked down the corridors and flicked his wand out.

Eponine waited outside while Lupin talked to Harry. She knew he was scolding him for wandering the corridors at night. Once he came out, Eponine went in; she was sure that Lupin would scold her as well.

"Eponine," he said. "What were you doing up late at night?"

"I work late sometimes," she admitted. "I always go to bed this late."

"Understandable. But you need to understand that you need to be much more careful since there is a killer on the loose. Remember that your mother gave her life to save yours and your father, difficult of a choice it was, gave you up to protect you."

"I understand, sir," she replied.

"Good. Now, I want you to go to your attic and stay there. Remember that I can't always be there to protect you. There is only so much I can do for you."

She nodded.

Eponine went to her attic. She crawled into her bed and went to sleep, dreaming…

A warm, pink blanket…a man singing…black hair, grey eyes and a mustache, staring at her…

"Daddy loves you, precious," his voice said.

Sirius Black followed Eponine as carefully as he could in the dark. He followed her to her attic, careful not to let her see him. He avoided the squeaky steps and went up to the door, which opened easily with a push. He turned back into his human form and lit a candle. He stood next to Eponine's bed, staring sadly at his sleeping daughter; her dull, blonde hair spread across the pillow, her dirty, pale face was peaceful and her hand lay next to her head. She looked like an angel asleep on a cloud.

"Eponine," he whispered. "My poor little girl."

He approached her bed closer; she whimpered, covering her face from the light. Sirius covered the candlelight to keep it from waking his daughter.

"Daddy loves you, precious," he whispered, stroking Eponine's hair.

Eponine's eyes opened slightly and she thought she saw something…a face…waxy and hollowed eyes…long, black unkempt hair…the candle blew out and the face was gone…

"Is someone there?" she called in the dark.

Nothing. No answer. She lit a candle but there was nothing there. Nobody was there. Perhaps it was just a dream. But, she found that her door was opened and was quite confused. She looked down the steps but there was nothing. She shrugged and closed the door. When she was about to climb into bed, there was the hair comb. She stared at it, dumbfounded. How? Who? She touched the delicate gems as it glistened in the candlelight and tucked it under her pillow, happy that it had been returned.

More letters from her Dad came.

_My dearest Eponine,_

_Getting a letter from you every day brings nothing but joy. When I sit in bed at night, reading your letter by candlelight, I hear your voice and imagine you sitting next to me, talking. I can only imagine you are doing the same when you read my letters._

_Now that spring is here, I am most certain I come for you sometime in June. I have had unfinished business to attend to lately. The longer I endure this wait getting to you, the more I want to see you. How much I want to see your smiling face when I get here. _

_I will send Lupin instructions about our meeting. However, before we meet, pack what you can and we will leave together. I will make arrangements with Dumbledore to have you released immediately and to enroll you in Hogwarts (if you want to). Otherwise I will be more than happy to teach you magic. _

_I cannot wait to see you, my precious. _

_Dad_

She wrote back:

_Dad,_

_I feel exactly how you feel whenever I get a letter from you. I sometimes want to sit in my attic and read your letter over and over, hearing your voice and imagining what it sounds like. Knowing that you are coming makes me very happy. I cannot wait to see you. I don't really have many things, but I'll be sure to pack them once Lupin tells me when we are to meet. All I have are letters from you, your present, and presents from my friends._

_Miss you. Can't wait._

_Eponine_

_P.S. Of course I want to go to Hogwarts! What makes you think I don't? Even though Snape is going to be my professor, he doesn't scare me…not as much since I know you're here. _

Sirius sat in the Shrieking Shack, reading his daughter's letter. He laughed delightfully when he read the last line. She definitely just like him, but had some of Jane in her. His sweet Jane…her blonde hair, brown eyes, the lilt in her laugh, her smile…

That night, Lupin called Eponine into his office.

"Eponine," he began. "I just received word from your father. He said he wishes to see you tomorrow at sunset."

Eponine's heart leapt with joy and excitement.

"So, meet me here in my office by sunset and we'll go together to meet your father. If you're not here by sunset, I'll come and fetch you."

She nodded.

The day came when she was going to meet her father. The sky seemed dark and cloudy. Black crows cawed in the courtyard and their wings fluttered. There was the sound of stone scraping against metal that made Eponine's skin crawl. She was outside, carrying a bucket of weeds that she had pulled from the courtyard. She saw the executioner from the Committee of the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. He gave her a toothless grin from underneath his black mask. Eponine shuddered and carried the bucket of weeds down the steps towards the Forbidden Forest.

Harry, Ron and Hermione came out and looked at the executioner, nervous.

"Hey, 'Ponine," said Hermione. "We're going down to Hagrid's. Want to come?"

"Yea," she replied. "I'll meet you down there. Got to take care of this." She gestured to the bucket of weeds.

She followed her three friends; Hermione stormed towards Malfoy, her face full of fury.

"Ah, come to see the show?" he said, mocking.

"You! You foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach!" she screamed.

She pulled her wand out and pointed it at his neck; he whimpered as he was forced to back against a stone pillar. Crabbe and Goyle only stood there, white faced, unsure of what to do. They were scared since that levitating incident…they were sure that Hermione did it since she knew so many spells.

"Hermione, no!" said Ron. "He's not worth it."

Hermione slowly lowered her wand and soon they were shocked, and then laughed. Soon, Hermione delivered a punch that landed right on Malfoy's nose. He yelped and checked his nose for blood and stared, horrified. He and his friends ran. Her friends stood there with mouths wide opened.

"That felt good," she said.

"Not good, brilliant," said Ron.

They were in Hagrid's hut, looking at a depressed Buckbeak, who lied in the pumpkin patch, chained to a post.

"Oh, look at him," said Hagrid. "Loves the smell of the trees when the wind blows through them."

"Why don't we just set him free?" suggested Harry.

"They'd know it was me and Dumbledore would get in trouble. He's coming down, you know, Dumbledore. Says he wants to be there…" he paused, unable to think about what tragic end the poor hippogriff would meet. "When it happens. Great man, Dumbledore. Great man."

"We'll stay with you too, Hagrid," said Hermione.

"You'll do no such thing! Think I want you seeing something like that? No. Just drink your tea and be off. Oh, before you do, Ron…" He turned towards the spice cupboard and pulled out the tin of sugar and found what looked like a nearly bald creature…

"Scabbers! You're alive!" Ron exclaimed, happily.

"Keep a closer eye on your pets," Hagrid said.

"I think you owe someone an apology," said Hermione, really hurt.

"Right. Next time I see Crookshanks, I'll let him know."  
"I meant ME!"

Suddenly there was a smash that came from a clay pot. All eyes turned in that direction. Hermione examined the broken pottery, only to find that there was nothing there.  
"OW!" exclaimed Eponine. Something hit her in the back of the head…something hard…

She turned in the direction of where the hard object had hit her and she saw three figures coming down the hill. It was Dumbledore, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, and the executioner, Macnair.

"Hagrid!" she said, pointing in the direction.

"Oh, crikey! It's late and it's nearly dark. You shouldn't be here. If someone sees you, you'll be in trouble."

There was a knock on the door.

"Be with you in a moment!" he said to the door, loudly. "Quick! Quick!" he said to the four of them in a lowered voice.

They scrambled towards the back door.

"Hagrid," said Harry. "It'll be OK. It'll be fine."

He nodded. "Go on. Go on!" he said, urgently.

They four of them waited until Hagrid opened the front door to let them in and they three of them ran out towards the pumpkin patch listening to the voices of Fudge and Dumbledore inside.

"_It is the decision of the Committee of the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, that the hippogriff known as Buckbeak, hereinafter called 'the condemned' shall be executed this day at sundown_."

"Dear, dear…" Hagrid said with a quiver in his voice.

"Now, now, Hagrid," said Dumbledore, with the intent to calm him down.

"_The execution shall dispatch_…"

Suddenly, a branch snapped and the four of them turned around towards the Dark Forest.

"What was that?" Harry asked.

"I thought I just saw," said Hermione. "Never mind."

"Let's go!" said Eponine. "I can't listen to any more of this."

"Right," Ron agreed.

They went up the hill and watched from a distance as the executioner raised his axe high into the air, the metal gleaming in the light, and a sickening thud as it fell down. Crows cawed and dispersed in black, feathery Vs.

Hermione wrapped her arms around Ron's shoulders and cried softly into his sweater. Eponine did the same with Harry. The two boys comforted the sobbing girls.

"OW!" yelled Ron.

He dropped him on the ground and began to scamper towards the hill.

"He bit me!" he exclaimed, examining the blood. "Scabbers! Come back!" He sprang after him, chasing him up the hill.

"Ron!" called Hermione.

The three of them looked at each other, then followed at a sprint. Soon, they stopped at the Whomping Willow; the three of them screeched to a halt, terrified. Ron jumped on top of Scabbers, grabbing him before he could escape.

"You do realize what tree this is?" said Hermione.

"Ron!" called Eponine. "Run!"

Soon, Ron looked up and he looked terrified.

"Harry, Hermione, Eponine, run! It's the Grim!"

They turned in the direction Ron was pointing and saw a large black dog standing behind them. It growled and made an enormous leap over the three of them. It ran towards Ron and it fastened it's teel around his leg and dragged him easily like a rag doll towards a large hole at the base of the Whomping Willow, screaming. Harry lunged towards Ron to try and grab his hands, but his fingers slipped and Ron was dragged down the hole.

The three of them were about to go after them, when out of nowhere, something hit them so hard in the stomach they were knocked off their feet and had the wind knocked out of them. They moaned, clutching their stomachs.

"Come on!" Hermione said.

They ran towards the base of the tree, dodging branches that swung at them. Eponine stared at the tree, picturing its weight in her mind. Its entire body was about to crash down on the three of them when it was suddenly stopped by an invisible shield that stood between the three of them and the tree. Her mind's force was buckling under the weight of the monstrous tree like a weak man trying to hold up a heavy dumbbell. Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead.

"GO!" she said. "Go after Ron! I'll catch up."

Harry and Hermione ran towards the hole and dove in. Eponine held on as long as she could and dove in along with her friends.

"Thanks," said Harry.

"Don't mention it," she replied.

"Where do you suppose this goes?" Hermione asked.

"I have a hunch," Harry replied. "I just hope I'm wrong."

They moved as fast as they could. On and on went the passage; it felt at least as long as the one to Hogsmeade…all they could think of was Ron and what the enormous dog might be doing to him…

Soon, the tunnel began to rise; moments later it twisted and there was a patch of dim light through a small opening. They paused, gasping for breath, edging forward. They approached the light and they found it was a trapdoor in the floor that was already open that led them inside a room, a very disoriented, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor, every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were boarded up.

"I think we're in the Shrieking Shack," Hermione whispered.

Next to the trapdoor were crumbling stairs. Everything was covered with a thick layer of dust except the floor, where a wide shiny stripe had been made by something being dragged upstairs.

"Come on," Harry whispered.

Quietly as they could, they crept up the stairs. The door at the top of the stairs was opened. They found Ron, sitting on a broken sofa, clutching his bloody leg, which stuck out at a strange angle.

"Ron," said Harry. "Are you OK?"  
"The dog, where is it?" asked Eponine.

"It's a trap! He's the dog! He's an Animangus!" he blubbered, terrified, pointing in the direction of the open door.

They looked at the floor and saw large paw prints leading towards the door and a pair of worn-out black shoes and tattered, dirty trousers. The door swung back to the frame and there he was: a mass of filthy matted, black hair hung over his shoulders. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His chest was thin that one could see his ribs. He had lots of tattoos of strange symbols all over his chest, neck and hands. Who knew how many he actually had? He wore a filthy, tattered, brown overcoat with a black and white striped prison uniform that was also filthy and tattered.

But it wasn't his terrible appearance that Eponine was looking at, it was his eyes: those grey-blue eyes…eyes that looked exactly like hers…the mustache…the long, black hair…something about Sirius Black looked so familiar…too familiar…


	8. The Heir of Sirius Black

Chapter Eight

The Heir of Black and the Servant of Lord Voldemort

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too," Hermione said, stepping in front of Harry to protect him.

"No!" he said, hoarsely. "Only one will die tonight. After years of not being a father to…" When he saw his dirty, tattered daughter standing beside Harry, his expression changed when he saw her.

"Eponine?" He stared at her with wide, grey-blue eyes.

"Huh?" she said.

Suddenly, he ran to her and hugged her. She felt tears soaking her dirty blouse and he sobbed with utmost joy. She looked extremely uncomfortable and confused.

"At last, you're here!" he sobbed. "How I've missed you so much!"

"What?" she said, even more confused.

He cupped her face with his hands; they were covered in tattoos and were extremely dirty. He stared into her grey-blue eyes that matched his wet eyes.

"It's me! It's Daddy! You know, all those letters you were getting…they're from me. And at last, here you are. My God! How much you've grown! So much like your mother, Jane."

Suddenly the mouths of Harry, Ron and Hermione dropped open and their eyes grew wide, staring with shock and surprise. They looked at each other.

"Wait!" she said. She pushed his hands away like a child who pushes a stranger away. "You mean…_you _wrote me those letters?"

"Yes. I did."

"But, I was told that my father was stranded on an island for a long time and was found by a military ship and was staying at a military base."

"Well, Azkaban is technically on an island. In the North Sea."

Soon the pieces of the puzzle began to fall in place.

"So you're telling me that you, Sirius Black, a mad, mass-murdering criminal who escaped from Azkaban, are my father and you couldn't tell me?"

"'Ponine…" he began.

"How _could_ you lie to me?!" she yelled. "You didn't think I could keep a secret this big? You didn't trust me enough to tell me who you were?"

"I trust you, 'Ponine," he said. "I just couldn't risk my exposure. If I told you who I was…"

"You thought I'd turn you in!" she shrieked. A vase exploded, scaring everything.

"No," said Sirius. "I…"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed. Sirius looked very hurt.

"You'll be the one to die tonight!" yelled Harry, unable to contain his anger. He lunged from Hermione and grabbed him by the throat, wrestling him to the floor. Sirius was sprawled on the floor; his thin chest rose and fell rapidly as he watched Harry take out his wand while his angry daughter stood behind, breathing heavily. Sirius laughed.

"Are you going to kill me, Harry?" he said, his gray, yellow teeth bared.

Then, Lupin entered the room, his face bloodless, his wand raised and ready.

"_Expelliarmus!_" he shouted and Harry's wand flew out of his hand. He gestured to Harry and Eponine to step away. Eponine obeyed immediately and went to join her friends. "Well, well, Sirius, looking rather ragged, aren't we? Finally, the flesh reflects the madness within."

"Well, you'd know all about the madness within, wouldn't you, Remus?" he said.

Lupin lowered his wand, gazing fixedly at Sirius, seized him by the hand, pulled him to his feet and then embraced him like a brother.

"I've found him!" he sobbed, excitedly.

"I know."

"He's here!"

"I understand."

"Let's kill him!"

"NO!" yelled Hermione. "I trusted you! And all this time, you've been his friend." She paused. "He's a werewolf. That's why he's been missing classes."

There was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin, who looked remarkably calm, though rather pale. He stared right at Hermione.

"How long have you known?" Lupin asked, letting Sirius go.

"Since Professor Snape set the essay."

"Well, well, Hermione," Lupin said, coolly. "You really are the brightest witch of your age I've ever met…"

"Enough talk, Remus! Come on! Let's kill him!" Sirius said, impatient and irritated.

"Wait!"

"I DID MY WAITING!" he yelled, sobbing. "Twelve years of it! In Azkaban! Thirteen away from my daughter!"

Lupin looked at his friend and handed him his wand.

"Very well, kill him. Wait one more minute. Harry and your daughter have the right to know everything."

"You mean you _knew_?" Eponine said. "You _knew_ that he was my father and you didn't tell me? You both lied to me?"

"'Ponine…" said Lupin.

"HOW COULD YOU?! I TRUSTED YOU!" she shrieked and a window smashed loudly, scaring everyone.

"I've forgotten that she does that whenever she's upset," Sirius whispered to Lupin.

"I can't believe you two lied to me this whole time. All those times you brought me _his_ letters, you could've told me! All the times we met in secret while you told me stories about my parents, you could've told me! You didn't think I could keep a secret like this because you didn't trust me, did you? You thought that as soon as you told me, I would turn him in. Well, you're wrong! I wouldn't have turned you in! Even if my father was a mad, mass-murdering wizard on the run from the Ministry of Magic, I wouldn't have said anything!"

"'Ponine, calm down," Lupin said.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me? Just tell me why!" A table upturned itself, hurling itself across the room.

"'Ponine," said Lupin.  
"No, Remus," said Sirius, holding up a hand to silence him. "Let me." He turned to his sobbing, angry daughter and looked at her right in the eye. "I was the one who asked Lupin not to tell you who I was. It was too dangerous to reveal myself to you and it was a risk I was not willing to take. If they found me, I would've never seen you again."

Eponine calmed down slowly and thought: perhaps her father was right. It was a great risk: the Ministry of Magic would've found him in an instant once he had placed his name on the letter if it had gotten intercepted and she would've never known about her father.

"Then, answer me this one question. Look me in the eye and honestly tell me: why did you leave me?"

Sirius looked into his daughter's wet eyes and he kept staring at her.

"Believe me, 'Ponine, it was the most difficult choice I had to make. The night your mother died, Lord Voldemort was going to kill you and take the pendant that you're wearing. I couldn't let you stay with me because I was sure he would return again and use you or perhaps kill you. I left you with Dumbledore to protect you. I couldn't lose you like I lost your mother. I love you too much to lose you. Hogwarts was the only safe place for you since Lord Voldemort was afraid of Dumbledore and I trusted him to keep you there until it was safe for me to take you back. While I was away, I sent Dumbledore letters about your progress as well as mine and sent him money for clothes and toys for you."

"Then, why did you leave me there so long?"

"It wasn't supposed to happen. Your stay with Dumbledore was supposed to be temporary until I found a safe place for the both of us. However, I was arrested and was unable to contact Dumbledore. All my contacts to the outside were cut off. It was torture to be away from you, sitting in that hellhole, for twelve years."

Eponine continued to listen with wet eyes, believing every word he spoke: they were honest and sincere. Not once when he spoke to her did his eyes leave hers. She heaved a long sigh. There was a warm sensation inside.

"Dad," she said, softly. "I…I believe you."

Sirius was so happy that tears welled up in his eyes. Just hearing her say those words filled him with exultant joy and he hugged his daughter for the first time in thirteen years. Eponine hugged back, happy that she was back with her dad. She could feel the bones beneath his skin and he smelled of sweat, salt, and filth. He, too, could feel his daughter's thinness beneath her linen tatters and the thought of it was enough to make him weep.

"You believe him?!" Harry yelled. "You believe this murderous traitor who betrayed my parents? He's the reason they're dead."

"No, it wasn't him," said Lupin. "But somebody did betray your parents and Eponine's mother, someone, until quite recently, I believed to be dead."

"Who was it then?" Harry asked.

"Peter Pettigrew!" Sirius laughed. "And he's in this room, right now! Come out, come out, Peter! Come out and play!"

"_Expelliarmus!_" said a cold voice from the doorway that was way too familiar to Eponine.

Snape had arrived, slightly breathless, but with a face full of suppressed triumph, his eyes glittering. Lupin's wand in Sirius' hand flew out and he pointed his wand at Sirius. Sirius pushed Eponine behind him, his arms stiff behind him to protect her.

"Vengeance is sweet," he breathed. "How I hoped I'd be the one to catch you."

"Severus…" Lupin began, but Snape overrode him.

"I told Dumbledore that you were helping an old friend into the castle and here is the proof."

"Brilliant Snape," Sirius said, sarcastically. "Once again, you put your keen and penetrating mind to the task and as usual, come to the wrong conclusion."

He saw Eponine standing behind Sirius. "And well, well, I see that you and your precious daughter have reunited…not exactly the way she was when you left her?"

"You loathsome snake!" Sirius said, fuming. He started towards Snape, but he pointed his wand right at Sirius's neck. He stopped, protecting Eponine, staring angrily at his school rival who had defiled his daughter with abuse and labor.

"Ruining your daughter was only the first step," he said. "From the moment I saw her, I _knew_ who's child she was. The moment I saw those eyes of hers, I _knew_."

"You'll pay dearly for what you did to Eponine, Snape. Now, if you'll excuse us, Remus and I have some unfinished business to attend to. After that, I am taking my daughter home."

"Oh, I seriously doubt that," he said, silkily, giving Sirius a nasty smile. "The day you were arrested, the Ministry of Magic was going to take her away to the poorhouse, but Dumbledore wouldn't hear of it, so I just stepped in to be the girl's legal guardian until she came of age or family member came to claim her."

Eponine stared in horror. All this time that Snape was abusing her and humiliating was because of something her father did to him. It made her sick.

"As long as I am here, you will _never_ touch my daughter again, Snape! I can promise you that. I am her father and the Ministry won't deny me my rights as a parent."

"I seriously doubt the Ministry would agree to allow a girl to be returned to her criminal father. The Ministry doesn't return children to criminal parents. That's what you are…a filthy, criminal! Now, I'll just take the girl and you back to the castle: you will get the Dementor's Kiss and I'll beat the girl until she's seventeen."

Sirius continued to stand in front of his daughter, unwilling to move, seething with rage. It was impossible to say which face showed more hatred.

"If you want to take her, you'll have to kill me," he threatened.

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't!" Snape whispered, pointing his wand into Sirius's neck. "I beg you."

"Severus, don't be a fool," said Lupin.

"He can't help it. It's habit," said Sirius.

"Sirius, be quiet!"  
"You quiet yourself!"

"You two quarrelling like an old married couple…just like you and Jane did."

"Why don't you run along and play with your chemistry set?" Sirius said, sarcastically.

He pressed his wand harder into Sirius's neck, his teeth gritted and there was a mad glint in Snape's eyes that Eponine had never seen before, yet was familiar with.

"I could do it, you know. But why deny the dementors? They're so longing to see you. Do I detect a flicker of fear? Oh, yes! A dementor's kiss. One can only imagine what that must be like to endure. It's said to be nearly unbearable to witness, but I'll do my best."

She saw that Sirius was trembling with fear in his eyes, what little color there was in Sirius's face left it.

"Daddy…" Eponine said.

"Don't worry, 'Ponine, I'll be fine."

"Oh, dear. I don't think Daddy will be fine, Miss Black. In fact, once your Daddy is brought back to the castle, the Dementor's Kiss will be administered and then, he'll never remember you. Then, I am going to beat you until you turn 17."

While the conversation was going on, Eponine saw Harry reach for Hermione's wand that was in her pocket while Ron stopped her from reacting. They shook their heads as of a way to tell her not to say anything…

"Severus…" said Lupin.

"Don't!" Eponine said. "Everyone, just stop standing up for me. I can do it myself." She stepped out from behind Sirius towards Snape, bravely.

"Eponine…" said Sirius.

"Dad, I'll be fine, really."

"Good," said Snape. "Such a cooperative little girl you have, Sirius." He grabbed Eponine by the shoulder and dug his fingernails into her shoulder. "Now, after you."

He gestured towards the door. Harry took a few steps forward and pointed his wand at Sirius at first and then at Snape…

"_EXPELLIARMUS!_" he yelled.  
There was a blast that made the door rattle on its hinges; Snape was lifted off his feet, flew across the room, nearly taking off Eponine's shoulder and slammed into the wall where the four-poster bed was. She shrieked and Snape's nail prints left bloody streaks. There was a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair. He had been knocked out.

"Harry, what did you do?" Eponine said with wide, terrified eyes.

"You attacked a teacher!" Hermione exclaimed with frightened eyes.

"Tell me about Peter Pettigrew!" Harry demanded, pointing his wand at Sirius.

"He was at school with us," said Lupin. "We thought he was our friend."

"No. Pettigrew's dead. _You_ killed him." He gestured to Sirius.

"No, he didn't. I thought so too until you mentioned seeing Pettigrew on the map."  
"The map was lying, then."

"The map never lies," Sirius said. "Pettigrew's alive. And he's right there!" He pointed to Ron. Scabbers was squealing like a piglet, scratching Ron's hands and squirming, trying to escape his grasp.

"ME?! He's mental!"

"Not you!" he replied, exasperated. "Your rat!"

"Scabbers has been in my family for…"  
"Twelve years?" Sirius finished the sentence with raised eyebrows. "Curiously long life for a common garden rat! He's missing a toe, isn't he?"

"So what?"

"All they could find on Pettigrew was his…" Harry said.

"Finger. When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James as well as Jane. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself. Then, the dirty coward cut it off so everyone would think he was dead. Then, he transformed himself into a rat."

"Show me!"

"Give it to him, Ron," Eponine said.

Sirius reached for Scabbers; Ron resisted while Scabbers was squeaking non-stop, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head.

"What are you trying to do to him?" Ron moaned. "Scabbers! Leave him alone! Get off him! What are you doing?"

Sirius picked up a wand and dropped the rat on the piano. It skittered all over the room while Sirius waved his wand, trying to stop him. Soon, as he reached the door, Sirius waved the wand and a flash of blue-white light erupted from the wand.

It was like watching a speeded up film of a growing tree. A head was shooting upward and limbs sprouted; a moment later, the rat grew from a tiny creature to a full-grown sized man. He struggled in the hole in the door, but couldn't get out. Sirius and Lupin pulled him to his feet, brandishing their wands at him.

He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry, perhaps a hair inch taller than Eponine. His thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who had lost a lot of weight in a short time. Hi skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed noise, his very small, watery blue eyes, and the two buck teeth.

"Remus?" he said in a voice that was squeaky. "Sirius! My old friends!"

He bolted towards the door, but they caught him and shoved him back. He looked around again with his watery eyes. He saw Harry and Eponine standing at the opposite end.

"Harry. Look at you! You look so much like your father. Like James. We were the best of friends." He turned to Eponine. "And you, 'Ponine, you look so much like your mother, Jane. Such a pretty girl she was."

"How dare you speak to them!" Sirius roared. "How dare you talk about James and Jane in front of them!"

"You sold Jane Hartigan, James and Lily to Voldemort," said Lupin.

Pettigrew burst into tears. It was horrible to watch, like an over-sized, balding baby, cowering near the piano.

"I didn't mean to!" Pettigrew sobbed. "The Dark Lord. You have no idea what weapons he possesses. Ask yourself, Sirius. What would've you done?"

"I WOULD'VE DIED!" he roared. "I would've _died _rather than betray my friends!"

Pettigrew bolted towards the door, but Harry and Eponine stopped him.

"Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed. Your dad would've spared me! He would have shown me mercy." To Eponine, "'Ponine, think about your mother. How kind she was. Surely she wouldn't have wanted this. She always saw good in people. She would reason with your dad."

Together, Sirius and Lupin pulled Pettigrew away from Harry and Eponine.

"We should've realized if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would," said Sirius. "Together."

"NO!" Harry and Eponine yelled at the same time.

"Harry, 'Ponine, this man is…"

"We know what he is," Eponine said.

"We'll take him to the castle," said Harry.

"Bless you two," said Pettigrew. "Bless you."

He grabbed their legs, sobbing happily. Even though she was filthy as is, Eponine still was disgusted that this man touched her. She backed away slighly.

"GET OFF!" yelled Harry. "I said we'd take you to the castle."

"After that, the dementors can have you," Eponine said. "And you will tell them everything and my Dad goes free."

"Of course, 'Ponine," Pettigrew said. "You're kind. Too kind. Just like Jane."

Sirius stared at his daughter, aghast at how she handled the situation. He was so proud of her. How grown up she was.

Soon, they went down the tunnel. Eponine had never been part of a stranger group. She followed behind Sirius and Harry, who were carrying Ron while she stood with Hermione, Lupin and Pettigrew. Lupin had Pettigrew covered with his wand.

"Sorry about the bite," said Sirius. "I reckon that twinges a bit."

"A bit? A bit?!" said Ron. "You nearly tore my leg off."

"I was going for the rat. Normally, I have a sweet disposition as a dog. In fact, more than once, James suggested that I make the change permanent. The tail I can live with, but the fleas…they're murder."

Eponine laughed. Sirius heard her laugh and it took him back to the days when he met Jane: it had a lilt of a silvery bell.

"Did you know Sirius was my dad all this time?" Eponine asked.

"I thought you did, but I wasn't sure," she said. "I mean, you had his eyes…"

Eponine smiled.

"So, what are you going to do, now that your dad is back?"

"I don't know. I suppose…once this is over…I'd like to go home with him, maybe eat a huge meal and take a bath…I would like to start over and get to know him better…I mean, it's been thirteen years…"

"It's never too late. Maybe now is the time…"

Once they were outside the tree, Sirius set Ron down on the root of the Whomping Willow and walk towards the hillside, staring at the Hogwarts castle.

"Are you OK?" Eponine said.

"Yea," said Ron. "I'm fine. You should go."

"No, I'll stay."

"You should go," said Harry. He gestured towards Sirius. "Your dad has been waiting all his life to see you."

Eponine nodded and walked over to her father.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he said. "I'll never forget the first time I walked through those doors…and the first time I saw your mother…it would be nice to walk through them as a free man."

"You will be, Dad," Eponine said. "Besides, if he's dead, the truth goes with him. Alive, you're free."

"True."

"Dad, I wanted to ask if this is over, will I go home with you?"

Sirius looked at her.

"Of course! You're my daughter. I have your birth certificate and soon you will be free to come home with me. We'll be a family again. And, well, I'll understand if you don't want to go to school here. Maybe I could teach you at home…"

"No. I'll go to school here. I'm not afraid of Snape as much now that you're here."

Sirius laughed. "Good. I'm glad." He paused for a moment. "Listen, I didn't tell you this, but when Harry was born, his parents made me his godfather."

"Oh! I didn't know that," she replied, surprised.

"Anyway, I wanted to ask Harry to live with me, but I wasn't sure how you would feel about…"

"Dad," Eponine said. "Harry's my best friend. Of course he can live with us. I don't mind. He's been very good to me since we first met."

Sirius smiled.

"I'm glad."

Soon Harry joined them.

"Oh, hello, Harry," said Sirius. "That was a noble thing you and 'Ponine did back there. He doesn't deserve it."

"I just didn't think my dad would have wanted his two best friends to become killers," said Harry.

"I don't think mum would've wanted you to do it either," said Eponine.

"Don't turn me into a flobberworm!" Pettigrew's voice blubbered. "Don't turn me into the dementors. Ron! Haven't I been a good pet? You won't let them give me to the dementors, will you? I was your rat! Sweet girl! Clever girl! Surely you won't…"

"Get away from her!" Lupin said.

"I don't know if you know, Harry," Sirius said. "But when you were born, Lily and James made me your godfather."

"I know," he replied.

"Of course, I can understand if you choose to stay with your aunt and uncle, but if you ever wanted a different home…"

"What? You mean come and live with you? How does Eponine feel about that?"

"It's fine," she said.  
"Well, it's just a thought. I can understand if you don't want to."

"HARRY! 'PONINE!" Hermione's voice broke their conversation. She pointed to the mountain, which slowly began to reveal a full moon. Soon, their party was bathed in moonlight. Lupin was looking at the sky, filled with terror…soon, his blue eyes turned yellow.

"Remus, my old friend," Sirius said. "Have you taken your potion tonight?"

He had gone rigid and his limbs began to shake; there were terrible cries of exquisite agony. Sirius restrained his friend, trying to persuade him to remember who he was.

"You know the man you truly are, Remus! This heart is where you truly live! This heart! Here!" He pointed to his chest.

Eponine could see fangs beginning to emerge. Lupin's head began lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching over.

"This flesh is only flesh!"

Soon, Lupin dropped his wand. All eyes were transfixed by the sight of Lupin's transformation, too intent upon the battle to notice anything else…Pettigrew had dived for Lupin's dropped wand. Eponine used her powers to yank the wand out of his hand and grabbed it, pointing angrily at Pettigrew. Soon, he was smiling and waving…too late…Pettigrew had transformed. They saw his bald head disappear from his suit and the little rat ran down the hill. Eponine was about to run after him when Hermione stopped her.

"Run! RUN!" Sirius yelled.

Soon, Lupin's fingernails turned into claws. Hair began to sprout visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed hands. Sirius was shoved aside and disappeared out of sight. The werewolf was doubled-over, whimpering…

"Come on," said Harry.

"No!" said Hermione. "Wait!"

"Hermione!" Ron moaned, terrified. "Bad idea. Bad idea."

Slowly, she approached the werewolf, staring at him.

"Professor?" she asked. It stared at her with yellow eyes. "Professor Lupin?"

Soon, it howled at the full moon. Hermione jumped and joined her friends. They were going to run when Snape came out. He angrily stared at Eponine.

"There you are! You defiant, little…"

Soon, there was a loud growl and suddenly, Snape did something that she never expected: he pushed her behind him, using his body as a shield to protect them from the snarling werewolf. It swiped at Snape, knocking him down with the others. Hermione and Eponine screamed. Eponine had fallen outside from Snape's grasp and was staring at the werewolf. He went towards her when all of a sudden, a blur of black came leaping out of nowhere. It was her Dad! It stood in front of her, snarling with its ears down, teeth bared and its fur bristled like a dog protecting its master. Snape pulled Eponine up from the ground and pushed her back behind him.

"Stay behind me!" he ordered.

She watched as the werewolf and the black dog fought in: there was mingle of teeth, fur, claws, snarling and saliva. Soon, the werewolf scratched and tossed the dog aside; it whimpered, but got right back up and grabbed its arm before it could charge back towards Snape and the others. It swiped at him…soon, the werewolf went after the dog.

"DAD!" she screamed.

She took off after them and Harry followed.

"COME BACK HERE, BLACK, POTTER!" Snape yelled.

He was about to grab Eponine when she slipped out of his grasp and went to the opening to where they were fighting. Eponine saw the werewolf pick up the dog and throw it; it hit a large boulder and it whimpered painfully.

Her eyes filled with tears. Angrily, she picked up a rock and threw it at the werewolf. It turned and snarled at her.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Harry yelled.

It went towards Eponine and Harry…soon there was a faint howling came from the distance which made the werewolf stop and it took off. Eponine saw the dog limping and whimpering in a field of ferns. Soon, the dog transformed back into Sirius, who was limping and then he took a tumble down the hill.

Eponine took off after him; her heart was pounding in her ears and her eyes were blinded by tears. She went through the forest and found him lying on his side. He was bleeding; there were gashes across his back. His clothes were tattered with blood blossoming on the ripped cloth.

"Dad!" she said in a quivering voice. She fell to her knees at his side with tears. She turned him over and saw a large scratch on his shoulder. She felt the warm blood beneath her fingers.

"Oh no!" she whispered. "DAD!" she yelled; her voice echoed through the forest. Large tears fell on her Dad's face. Suddenly, she pounded her bloody fists on his chest, sobbing. "Don't you _dare_ leave me! If you leave me, I swear I will hunt you down and…" Her words ended and she sobbed on his chest. "Daddy, please don't leave me! I don't want to be alone! I need you!"

Suddenly, she heard soft music in her head from the music box…she sang softly, sobbing…

_There's a kingdom by the sea_

_As far away as can be_

_Soon you'll be_

_Here with me_

_And together we shall live happily_

_In our kingdom by the sea_

"'Ponine?" said Harry. He too joined her to look at Sirius. He too looked devastated as she did when he saw Sirius.

"Do you think…?" Harry said, his voice quivering  
"I don't know…" Eponine said, wiping tears away, her hands shaking.

Soon, the lake started to freeze into a large sheet of ice. That's when Sirius woke up and screamed. Harry and Eponine looked up and saw them. Dementors, at least a hundred of them, were gliding in a black mass around the lake towards them. The familiar, icy cold penetrating insides, fog starting to obscure their vision; more were appearing out of the darkness on every side; they were encircling them…

"Eponine!" screamed Harry. "Think of something happy!" Eponine pulled out Lupin's wand from her apron pocket and together they raised their wands. Eponine blinked furiously to try and clear her vision, shaking her head to rid it of the faint screaming inside it…soon, Eponine's heart was glowing with intensity that the entire forest turned a crimson red…but it didn't stop…

"EPONINE!" a woman's voice screamed. Soon a man's voice…it was Sirius's. "Jane? Jane! No! NO! NOOOOOOOO!!" There was sobbing…

She tried to think of happy memories: her father's letters, Lupin's stories about her parents, the first time she encountered her dad, his voice…his promises…

_We'll always be a family, 'Ponine. At last, you're here. I've missed you so much._

"Daddy…" she whispered.

"_Expecto patronum!_" Harry's voice said in the distance. "Eponine, say it with me!"

"_Expecto patronum!"_ she said. "_Expecto…expecto…_"

The abuse she endured for so long: Snape's beatings, the Slytherins teasing her, the humiliation…

"NO!" she screamed. "_EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM!_" Harry bellowed.

A thick shield formed around their wands and dementors began to attack the white shield…but it soon failed. Eponine's happy thoughts began to disappear and more screams from her mother and her father's sobbing voice in the distance, the blows from Snape and the Slytherins…there were screams from Harry, Sirius and herself; they could feel them watching, hear their rattling breath like an evil wind. Eponine stared at it in the face; where there should've been eyes, there was only, thin, gray scabbed skin, stretched blankly over empty sockets. But there was a mouth…a gaping, shapless hole, sucking the air with the sound of a death rattle. Eponine could feel its putrid breath…her mother screaming in her ears…she was going to be the last thing she heard…

"EPONINE!" Sirius screamed. "JANE! JANE! NOOOO! EPONINE!!"

And then, Sirius lied on the bank, motionless and an aquamarine sphere emerged from his lips…

"Dad…" she whispered.

Soon, there was a silvery light coming from across the lake…Eponine felt herself fall on the stony shore next to her father…weak to move, sick and shaking, she opened her eyes. The blinding light was illuminating the lake…the screaming had stopped, the cold was ebbing away…

Something was driving the dementors back…it was circling around her, Sirius, and Harry…they were leaving…the air was warm again…slowly, the aquamarine sphere disappeared into Sirius's lips and he let out a gasp as though he had been pulled out of the water from drowning…

"'Ponine," he whispered.

Eponine raised her head with every ounce of strength she could muster, and saw two animals amid the light, standing across the lake…she tried to make it out…they were bright as unicorns…fighting to stay conscious, they watched as it came to a halt as it reached the opposite shore. One was a stag and the other was a dog…soon, it disappeared and there were two black figures across the shore…

She couldn't think anymore. She felt the last of her strength leave her and her head hit the ground as she fainted…

"Daddy…" she moaned.


	9. Hermione's Secret

Chapter 10

Hermione's Secret

"Shocking business…shocking…miracle none of them died…never heard the like…by thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape…"

"Thank you, Minister."

"Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say. First class, if I can wangle it!"

"Thank you very much indeed, Minister."

"Nasty cut you've got there…Black's work, I suppose?"

"As a matter of fact, it was Potter, Weasley, Granger and Black, Minister…"  
"Black? Sirius Black? But you said…"  
"NO! His daughter, Eponine Black."

"_No!_ Sirius Black has a daughter? My God! I had no idea…must've been before my time…"

"Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge their behavior. They seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent. They weren't responsible for their actions. On the other hand, their interference might have permitted Black to escape…they obviously thought they were going to catch Black single handedly. They got away with a great deal before now…I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion of themselves…and of course, Potter has always been allowed an extrodinary amount of license by the headmaster…"

"Ah, well, Snape…Harry Potter, you know…we've all got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned."

"As for Eponine, I don't think she should be returned to her father. No child should be in the possession of a murderer. Who knows what kind of example he would be setting for her?"

"Understandable. I quite agree. But still, if he claims her with a birth certificate and written statement that he is her father and request of release, his parental rights remain standing…"

Eponine lay listening with her eyes shut. She felt very groggy. The words she was hearing seemed to be travelling very slowly from her ears to her brain, so that it was difficult to understand…her limbs felt like lead; her eyelids were too heavy to lift…she wanted to lie on this comfortable bed, forever…

"What amazes me is the behavior of the dementors…you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?"

"No, Minister…by the time I had come 'round they were heading back to their positions at the entrances."

"Extraordinary. And yet Black, and Harry and Eponine…"

"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers and brought them all straight back to the castle."

Eponine opened her eyes slowly; grey blue…just like her father's…long lashes…and blinking…there was a gnawing sensation in the pit of her stomach…

She was lying in the hospital wing. At the very end of the ward, she could make out Madam Pomfrey with her back to her, bending over a bed. She saw Harry was lying next to her and Ron's red hair was visible beneath Madam Pomfrey's arm. She looked towards the open door and the voices of Cornelius Fudge and Snape were coming through the corridor outside.

"Ah, you're awake!" Madam Pomfrey said briskly. She was carrying the largest block of chocolate she had ever seen in her life. It looked like a small boulder. She placed the chocolate on her bedside table and began breaking it apart with a small hammer. "I'm quite surprised you're the first to be awake."

"How are the others?" she asked.

"Fine. They'll live. As for you, you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied…"

"I need to speak with the Headmaster," she said.

"Miss Black," said Madam Pomfrey. "It's alright. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now…"

"WHAT?!"

Eponine jumped out of bed; a glass vial fell over and broke. But her shout had been heard in the corridor outside; the next second, Cornelius Fudge and Snape entered the ward.

"What's all this?" Fudge said; looking agitated…that's when he saw Eponine and stared with awe. "My God! So this is Black's daughter? My, my! She _does_ have his eyes! Such a terrible thing though…anyway, Miss Black, you should be in bed—has she had any chocolate?" he asked Madam Pomfrey anxiously.

"Minister, listen!" Eponine said. "My Dad is innocent. Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the dementors do that thing to him…he's innocent…I saw Pettigrew. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean and…"

But Fudge was shaking his head with a small smile on his face.

"'Ponine, you're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back now, we've got everything under control…"  
"YOU HAVEN'T!" she screamed. A table moved three inches slightly. "YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!"

"You see, Minister?" said Snape. "A deviant…just like her father…"

"Don't talk about him that way!" she screamed. The table fell over, spilling chocolate everywhere. Fudge jumped at the sound of the table falling over. "Please…if you would just listen…"

"Minister! Professor!" said Madam Pomfrey angrily. "I must insist that you leave. Eponine is my patient and she should not be distressed!"

"I'm not distressed! I'm trying to tell you what happened!" she said furiously. Vials, tables and beds began to tremble slightly. "If they'd just listen…"

"Eponine, you will hold your tongue right now!" said Snape.

"No, I won't! Not this time!"

Snape's lips pursed angrily that his servant had dared to speak defiantly.

"How _dare_ you speak to me, you insolent little…"

"Severus," said the voice of Dumbledore. "Let the girl speak." Dumbledore nodded at Eponine as a way of saying go on.

"For heaven's sake!" said Madam Pomfrey hysterically. "Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist…"

"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Miss Black," Dumbledore said, calmly. "I have just been talking to Sirius Black…"

"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in his daughter's head?" spat Snape. "Something about a rat and Pettigrew being alive…"

"That, indeed, is Black's story," said Dumbledore, surveying Snape closely through his half-moon glasses.

"And does my evidence count for nothing?" snarled Snape. "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sight of him on the grounds."

"That's because you were knocked out," Eponine said, earnestly. "You just missed him when he escaped…"

"HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"

"Now, Snape," said Fudge, startled. "The young lady is disturbed in her mind, we must make allowances…"

"I came here because Sirius Black wishes to see his daughter for one last time," said Dumbledore.

"Absolutely not! I forbid it!" said Snape.

"Now, now, Severus," said Fudge. "I think a condemned parent has the right to see their child one last time."

Dumbledore turned to her. "Come then. I'll take you to him. I'll give you five minutes and that's it. Then, you must return here immediately."

Dumbledore took Eponine up to the tallest tower and once there, he unlocked the door and Eponine went in and saw her father, sitting on the floor. He looked overjoyed to see her. He ran to his daughter and hugged her tightly.

"I was hoping they would let me see you," he said. "I would like to have one last memory of you before I am gone." He paused to look at her, absorbing every aspect of his daughter's face: her blonde, unkempt hair, her dirty, pale face that she inherited from Jane, those large, sad grey-blue eyes she inherited from him that were welled up with tears.

Eponine felt tears forcing their way out. "I don't want you to go," she said, her voice quivering. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"I'm going to miss you too," he whispered. "Listen, I may not remember who you are after the Kiss, but know this: the ones who love us never really leave us and you can always find them in here." He pointed to Eponine's heart. Eponine looked at all the tattoos on his filthy hand…but, there was one that caught her eye: the one on his left forearm had a heart that was surrounded by a red rose with thorny vines surrounding the heart with her name. He paused to wipe the tears away from her eyes.

She reached into her pockets and took out a pair of her sewing scissors. She cut a lock of hair and it landed in a golden swirl in her hand. She handed it to Sirius.

"I want you to have this. Hold onto it when it happens."

Sirius had tears in his eyes.

"I will," he said. He tucked it in his pocket and felt the silkiness. He hugged his daughter tightly. "You've grown up so much, 'Ponine. I'm very proud of you. I'll always be proud of you."

"I love you, Daddy," she whispered.

"I love you too, precious," he whispered back; he was sobbing as well.

A knock on the door.

"Time's up," said Dumbledore's voice.

"I have to go," she said. "Goodbye, Daddy."

"Goodbye, Eponine."

She went towards the door, took another look and ran to him and hugged him for one last time, tighter and longer, making it as memorable as possible. Then she headed towards the door.

"Tell Dumbledore I said thank you and that I'm grateful he gave me this one last chance," he said.

"I will," she said, quietly, holding back her tears.

The door opened and she went through the door, taking one last look at his grey-blue eyes and the door closed behind her.

Eponine and Dumbledore walked back to the hospital wing. Dumbledore felt sorry for both of them: that a father would never remember his daughter again and a daughter would never see or know her father.

"I'm sorry," Dumbledore said. "I'm sorry for what has happened for all these years you've been here. I feel I have failed to keep your father's promise."

"You did keep one promise," she said. "He asked me to thank you for giving him a last chance to see me. He's very grateful."

Dumbledore still looked sad, but nodded.

Once they arrived, Harry and Hermione began to tell Dumbledore what they knew.

"Headmaster, you've got to stop them!" Hermione pleaded. "They've got the wrong man!"

"It's true. Sirius is innocent," said Harry.

"It's Scabbers who did it," said Ron.

"Scabbers?" Dumbledore said, his eyebrows raised.

"He was my rat, sir. Well, he's not really a rat. He was a rat. He was my brother, Percy's rat and then they gave him an owl."

"The point is, we know the truth…" said Hermione. "Please believe us."

"I do, Miss Granger," he said, quietly. "But I'm sorry to say that there is not a shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word—and the word of four thirteen-year-old wizards will convince few others. A child's voice, however honest and true, is meaningless to those who have forgotten how to listen. " He looked at the large clock's gears in the tower from across the hospital wing. "Mysterious thing, time. Powerful, but when meddled with, dangerous. Sirius Black is in the topmost cell of the Dark Tower." He turned to Hermione. "You know the laws, Miss Granger. You must not be seen. And you would do well, I feel, to return before this last chime. If not, the consequences would be too ghastly to discuss. If you succeed tonight, more than one innocent life can be spared and one will be liberated. Three turns should do it." He winked at her.

"Oh, and by the way. When in doubt, I find that retracing my steps would be a wise place to begin. Good luck."

Then, he closed the door. Harry and Eponine looked at each other, confused.

"What the bloody hell was he talking about?" said Ron, confused.

"Sorry, Ron," said Hermione. "Seeing how you can't walk." She began to fumble with the neck of her robes, pulling from beneath a very long, very fine gold chain. She threw it around Harry and Eponine. She was holding the chain out and there was a tiny, sparkling hourglass hanging from it. She turned it three times. There was a strange sensation that she was flying very fast, backwards. A blur of colors and shapes rushed passed them, her ears were pounding and words were spoken backwards in unintelligible blabbing.

Soon, she felt solid ground beneath her feet and everything came into focus again—

She was standing next to Hermione and Harry in the deserted hospital wing and a stream of golden sunlight was falling across the floor from the windows. She looked at Hermione…

"What just happened?" Eponine asked.

"Where's Ron?" asked Harry, confused.

"It's 7:30," said Hermione. "Where were we at 7:30?"

"Um…you were heading out to see Hagrid…" Eponine remembered. "I was weeding outside."

"Come on. And we can't be seen."

They ran down the empty corridor towards the stairs towards the deserted entrance hall. They went across the courtyard where Macnair, the executioner was sitting, sharpening his axe and a murder of crows were cawing around him. Soon, they darted down the corridor that went towards Hagrid's hut. The sky was once again cloudy and had a dark feeling. They saw themselves fighting with Malfoy.

"Hermione, could you please tell me what we are doing?" Harry demanded.

"You foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach!" they heard Hermione's voice.

"That's us!" Eponine said, shocked.

"Hermione, no!" said Ron. "He's not worth it!"

"This is not normal!" Harry said.

Hermione shoved the two of them in the hall in the dark. She pulled out the hourglass from her sweater.

"This is a Time-Turner," she said. "McGonagall gave it to me first term. This is how I've been getting to all my lessons all year."

"You mean we've gone back in time?" Eponine said.

"Yes." She paused. "Dumbledore obviously wanted us to return to this moment. Clearly something happened he wants us to change."

They watched as Hermione punched Malfoy in the nose.

"Good punch," said Harry.

"Thanks," she said, smiling.

Soon, Malfoy was running towards the hall.

"Malfoy's coming!" Hermione said, pushing them towards a window.

"Run!" said Crabbe.

"Not a word to anyone, understood?" he said.

"OK!" said Goyle, panting.

"I'm gonna get that jumped-up Mudblood! Mark my words!"

"That felt good," said the other Hermione.

"Not good," said Ron. "Brilliant."

"Come on," said the other Harry. "We should be at Hagrid's."

Soon, the three of them watched as they went down the hill on the stone steps. Eponine watched her own self dump the weeds in the Forbidden Forest and place the bucket outside Hagrid's hut and went inside.

"Look!" Harry said. "Buckbeak's still alive!"

"Of course," said Hermione. "Remember what Dumbledore said? If we succeed, more than one innocent life could be spared."

"Let's go," Eponine said.

They ran down the hill towards Hagrid's hut and hid in the pumpkin patch where the depressed hippogriff was tethered to a pole. Soon, there was the sound of crows cawing in the distance. They saw that Fudge, Dumbledore, and the executioner, Macnair were coming down the hill, talking.

"Here they come," Eponine said.

"I'd better hurry," said Harry.

Hermione stopped him.

"Fudge has to see Buckbeak before we steal him," said Hermione. "Otherwise he'll think Hagrid set him free."

"Scabbers!" said Ron's voice. "You're alive!"  
"Keep a closer eye on your pet," said Hagrid.

"That's Pettigrew," said Eponine. She was about to run towards the back door.

"'Ponine, you can't," said Hermione, grabbing her by her tattered blouse.

"'Ponine's right," said Harry. "That's the man who betrayed _both_ our parents."

"I agree with Harry. You don't expect us to sit here," said Eponine, angrily.

"Yes, and you _must_!" said Hermione. "Harry, 'Ponine, you're in Hagrid's hut now. If you just go bursting in, you'll think you've gone mad. Awful things have happened to wizards who meddle with time. We can't be seen."

"I guess you're right," Eponine sighed. She looked to her left and saw that Fudge was now getting closer to Hagrid's hut. "Fudge is coming."

"And we aren't leaving?" said Hermione, confused. "Why aren't we leaving?"

Hermione remembered something…the jar of breadcrumbs smashing…

"Of course," said Hermione. She turned to Eponine. "'Ponine, a little help."

She nodded, concentrated on the jar and broke easily.

"Good," said Hermione. Then, her hand found a small stone next to her and she picked up a rock and threw it at Eponine's head.

"OW!" Eponine heard herself say.

She rubbed her head. "That really hurt," she said.

"Sorry," Hermione said.

They continued to watch as Fudge, Dumbledore and Macnair went up the steps. Dumbledore knocked on the front door with his walking stick. And sure enough, moments later, the back door opened, and they saw themselves walking out of the back door.

"We're going out the back door!" Hermione panicked. "GO!"

The three of them ran from the pumpkin patch and hid behind trees, staying out of sight. They watched themselves as they hid behind the pumpkins, listening to Fudge's statement to Hagrid. It was probably the strangest sensation to be standing behind the trees, watching themselves in the pumpkin patch. Hermione moved a branch aside and looked at herself.

"Is that what really what my hair looks like from the back?" she said.

Eponine didn't know whether to roll her eyes or laugh…but she suddenly stepped on a branch. Suddenly, Hermione dropped the branch and hid behind the trees with Harry and Eponine. Fudge was reading the notice of execution by now:

"_It is the decision of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures that the hippogriff, Buckbeak, hereinafter called 'the condemned' shall be executed on this day at sundown.._"

"What was that?" said the other Harry.

"I thought I just saw…" said the other Hermione. "Never mind."

"Let's go," said the other Eponine. "I can't hear anymore of this."

"Right," said Ron.

The three of them took off from the pumpkin patch and up the hill. They took another second look to make sure their backs were turned and running up the hill. They hid behind the pumpkin patch and made sure nobody was looking out the window. Fudge continued to read:  
"_…sentenced to execution by beheading, to be carried out by the Committee's appointed executioner, Walden Macnair…_"

"OK, go, Harry," said Hermione. "Go!"

Harry stepped out from behind the pumpkin patch and went towards Buckbeak, kicking a crow that was pecking at his pant leg.

"Get away! Get off!" he whispered.

"…_as witnessed below._ Hagrid, you sign here…"

Then, he bowed to Buckbeak, waited and then, Buckbeak bowed his head back and laid his head back down on his clawed feet, depressed. Harry walked towards the pole where Buckbeak was chained up. He reached for the chain, yelped quietly as a crow pecked at his hand. Soon, he had the chain untied from the pole. Soon, Hagrid's front door opened and their hearts nearly leaped out of their chests…

"Minister, I really think I should sign as well," said Dumbledore.

"Yes, very well. Perhaps it would be…" said Fudge, closing the door.

They all heaved a long sigh of relief.

"OK, Buckbeak," Harry whispered. "Come quickly. Come with us now. Come on!"

Harry tugged harder on the chain around Buckbeak's neck. Buckbeak kept lying there, depressed and wouldn't move.

"Keep trying!" Eponine said urgently.

"Come on. Quickly!" Hermione said, panicking.

"Buckbeak, OK? Quickly. Hurry up. OK?" Harry hissed, but Buckbeak still wouldn't move.

"Your name only…" said Fudge's voice from inside.

"It's such a very long name…" said Dumbledore's voice.

"Hurry up now, Buckbeak, OK?" Harry continued even more desperately.

He kept pulling on the chain; Buckbeak squawked quietly, annoyed, rustling its wings. Soon, Hermione appeared with a chain of dead ferrets on her neck. She held out a ferret to lure him. Buckbeak suddenly looked at it with wide, orange eyes.

"Come on, Buckbeak," said Hermione. "Come and get the nice dead ferret." Buckbeak soon was on his feet. Hermione tossed him a ferret and he gobbled it up, happily. They were still ten feet away from the forest, in plain view of Hagrid's window. It followed the ferret Hermione was waving…

"That's it!" Eponine chimed in. "It's here! Come on, Beaky!"

"Here we are, Minister," said Dumbledore. "Follow me. Look there."

Hermione, Harry and Eponine froze as Dumbledore and Fudge came out the front door. They had their backs turned from them, but they were frozen, paralyzed with fear that if they turned around, it would all be over. Buckbeak snapped his beak and gobbled up the ferret that Hermione was holding. She froze with her hands up.

"Where?" said Fudge.

"Look beyond the rocks."

"What am I supposed to see?"

"Professor Dippet had that ling planted when he was headmaster," said Dumbledore.

"Oh, yes. Indeed."  
"And all the strawberries."

"Come on, Buckbeak," Hermione whispered, continuing to toss him more ferrets to lure him into the woods. Soon, Buckbeak broke into a trot towards the woods, following the ferret that Hermione was holding.

"I see no strawberries," said Fudge.

"Over there," said Dumbledore.

"Where?"

"Over there. This way." Dumbledore pointed towards the hill with his cane.

"Let's get this over with, please," said Fudge impatiently.

Soon, they had successfully lured Buckbeak into the woods and they continued to watch the show, keeping Buckbkeak quiet with ferrets.

"All right," said Dumbledore.

There was a long silence and Fudge turned around and saw that Buckbeak was gone.  
"Where is it?" he said. "I saw the beast just now. Not a moment ago."

"How extraordinary," said Dumbledore. There was a note of amusement in his voice.

"Buckbeak," called Hagrid.

"Come now, Dumbledore," said Fudge. "Someone's obviously released him. Hagrid?"

"Buckbeak," he called again.

"I don't think the minister's suggesting you had anything to do with this. After all, how could you? You've been with us all the time."

"Well, right."

"Well, well…we must search the grounds," said Fudge.

"Well, search the skies if you must, minister. Meanwhile, I'd like a nice cup of tea or brandy." He laughed. "Oh, executioner, your services are no longer required. Thank you."

Fudge was sputtering mad, speechless. A crow landed on his hat, which Eponine thought was the funniest thing she had ever seen and let out a small giggle.

"You'll find no small glasses in this house, Professor," said Hagrid.

The executioner raised his axe and it landed with a thud on a large pumpkin in the garden, making a rather nasty squish. Crows dispersed, cawing. The executioner seemed to have swung it into the pumpkin in anger.

They ran through the forest with Buckbeak. Hermione continued to lure Buckbeak with the dead ferrets until they moved to the edge of the forest, darkness falling thickly around them.

"Now what?" asked Harry.

"We save Sirius," said Hermione.

"But how?" asked Eponine.

"No idea."

They ran until they were hidden behind large bushes through which they could make out the Willow. They watched as Lupin approached the Whomping Willow.

"Look, it's Lupin," Eponine said. "I was supposed to meet with him that night so he would take me to my Dad."

"_Immobulus!_" he said, pointing his wand at the tree. The tree stopped moving and he disappeared into the gap in its roots. Eponine saw a black figure with a sallow face in the distance.  
"Snape's coming," said Hermione.

They watched as Snape followed cautiously behind, keeping out of sight from Lupin and entered into the hole at the base of the tree.

"And now we wait," Eponine said.

Hermione and Harry nodded. They sat down on the ground, behind the bushes, waiting. While the hours went by, bats came out, fluttering in a large, black cloud. Buckbeak was snapping at them, swallowing them whole whenever they passed by.  
"Looks like someone's enjoying themselves," said Eponine.

Eponine imagined herself in the Shrieking Shack at this moment, screaming at her Dad about what a liar she was. She felt so terrible inside that she wished she could go back and tell him how sorry she was.

"'Ponine, what's wrong?" asked Hermione.

"I…I was just thinking about how I was yelling at Dad," she said, sadly. "I feel so terrible. I didn't even apologize."

"I'm sure he knows you're sorry," Harry said, reassuringly.

"No. I just can't get that image of his face…he looked so…hurt when I yelled at him. I mean all this time when Lupin was giving me his letters and all those wonderful things he said in them and then, when I finally met him, I threw it all in his face…because of what I knew from everyone else…"

"Eponine," said Hermione. "All parents love their children, no matter how terrible they treat them. I'm sure he knows you didn't mean it."

Eponine was a bit convinced and nodded. She thought of her last moment with him…and yet, she _didn't_ even want to think about what would've happened if they didn't go back to this moment…she sighed and just continued to wait.

"Hermione?" said Harry.

"Before, down at the lake, when I was with Sirius and Eponine, I did see someone. That someone made the dementors go away."

"With the Patronus." Hermione said. "I heard Snape telling Dumbledore. According to him, only a really powerful wizard could've conjured it."

"It was my dad," said Harry.

"Now, that you mention it," Eponine said. "I think I saw two people standing there."

"Two? Are you sure? Then, who could it be?" asked Harry.

"Well, the second one…conjured a dog…it had long hair…I think it was my Mum. Dad did say how much he loved her."

"'Ponine, your mum…Harry, your mum and dad…"

"We know," said Harry quickly. "We're just telling you what we saw."

The leaves overhead rustled faintly in the breeze. Eponine thought about her mother meeting her father for the first time: her laugh when he made her laugh, her smile that could light up a room, her eyes sparkling, her golden hair glowing in the sunlight…

"Here we come!" Hermione whispered.

The three of them got to their feet. They saw Sirius, Harry and Ron, then Hermione and Eponine, and lastly Lupin and Pettigrew clambering awkwardly out of the hole in the roots. Eponine watched herself move towards her father; she remembered that warm feeling inside when she was talking to her dad.

"You see Dad talking to me there?"

"Yea?"

"He was telling me that he was going to release me from domestic servitude and come and live with him."

"That's great," said Harry.

"When he's free, he said we would be a family again." She paused. "We could live in the country; someplace you could see the sky. I think he'll like that after all those years from Azkaban."

Any moment now, the moon would rise from behind the mountain.

"Harry!" said Hermione's voice in the distance. Soon, the entire area was bathed in moonlight and one could hear Lupin's cries of agony again and Sirius talking to his friend.

"Run! RUN!" yelled Sirius.

Then, there was Hermione and Eponine's screams and the snarls and howls of the werewolf. Sirius in his Animagus form attacked the werewolf and there was a terrible mixture of growls and snarls.  
"Let's go!" Harry whispered.

They ran towards the clearing where the dog and the werewolf were fighting. Eponine watched herself throw a rock at the werewolf.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Harry yelled in the distance.

The werewolf snarled and went towards Eponine…Hermione soon let out a loud howl and the werewolf stopped.

"What are you doing?!" Eponine said.

"Saving your lives!"

She howled again and the werewolf stopped and looked in their direction.

"Thanks," Eponine whispered.

"Great, now he's coming for us!" Harry said.

"Yea. I didn't think about that! RUN!"

The three of them ran into the Dark Forest; hearts pounding and panting; Harry stumbled at one of the trees. Eponine pulled him up with all her strength and they hid behind a tree. They watched as the werewolf looked around, howling, calling for the one that called to him. Nothing. Soon, they moved around the tree, staying out of sight…what they didn't realize was the werewolf was right in the clearing behind them!

It roared at them with fangs and terrible breath. The three of them doubled over, scared about what fate would come…then, there was loud squawking and the flutter of wings…the werewolf whimpered and took off. Buckbeak stopped fluttering his wings and turned towards them.

"That was so scary," Hermione whispered.

"Poor Professor Lupin's having a rough night," Eponine said.

Soon, the wind began to pick up and they looked up in the sky and saw hundreds of dementors flying towards the lake. They watched as Harry, Eponine and Sirius were screaming as the dementors tortured them with horrible memories, sucking out their soul, little by little…

"This is horrible," Hermione said.

"Don't worry, my mum and Harry's dad will come," said Eponine.

"They'll conjure the Patronus," Harry said, agreeing with her.

They continued to watch themselves on the opposite bank.

"Any minute now," said Harry.

"Right there," said Eponine. "You'll see." She pointed to the spot where they saw them standing.

But no one came. They looked at the circle of dementors.

"Listen to me," said Hermione. "No one is coming."

"Don't worry," said Harry. "They will. They will come."

Still, nobody came. Eponine watched in horror as she and her father and her best friend were dying slowly.

"You're dying…" Hermione said.

And then it hit the both of them—they understood. Harry didn't see his father nor did Eponine see her mother—they had seen themselves—

"Eponine, go! Save your father!" said Hermione. "Take my wand! Hurry!" She tossed her wand to Eponine and together, Harry and Eponine ran towards the bank, wands in their hands and together they bellowed:  
"_EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_

And out of the ends of their wands burst, not a shapeless cloud of mist, but two blinding, dazzling animals. Eponine screwed up her eyes trying to see what hers was. It looked like a four-legged creature of some sort. It trotted beside what looked like a horse that galloped beside hers silently away from them, across the black surface of the lake. They saw the animals charge at the swarming dementors…now they were running around and around the black shapes on the ground and the dementors were falling back, scattering, retreating in the darkness…they were gone.

The two Patronus turned. They were cantering back towards Harry and Eponine across the still surface of the water. Harry's was not a horse. It wasn't a unicorn either. It was a stag. Eponine's was a dog in the similar to her father's Animagus. They shone brightly as the moon above…they were coming back to them…

They stopped on the bank. The paws and hooves made no mark on the soft ground as they stared at their conjurors with their large, silver eyes. Soon, the stag bowed its antlered head and the dog did the same. And they both realized…

"Prongs," he whispered.

"Padfoot," she whispered.

But as their trembling fingertips stretched to touch the creatures, they vanished. They stood there, hand still outstretched. Together, they saw that Snape was coming towards them and they hid behind the bushes. He was conjuring stretchers and lifting the limp forms of Harry, Eponine and Sirius onto them. A fourth stretcher, no doubt bearing Ron, was already floating at his side. Then, wand held out in front of him, he moved them away toward the castle.

"Right, it's nearly time," said Hermione tensely, looking at her watch. "We've got another forty-five minutes until Dumbledore returns with you, 'Ponine and locks the hospital wing. We've got to rescue Sirius and get back into the ward before anybody realizes we're missing…"

They waited, watching the moving clouds reflected in the lake, while the bush next to them whispered to them. Soon, the three of them mounted Buckbeak and they flew towards the castle.

"You were right, Hermione," said Harry. "It wasn't my dad or Eponine's mum that we saw earlier. It was us! We saw ourselves conjuring the Patronus. Does that make sense?"  
"No," said Hermione, looking scared. "But I don't like FLYING!" She screamed.

Soon, they flew towards the highest tower in the castle. Buckbeak slowed down and they found themselves at a stop, unless you counted the fact that they kept rising up and down several feet as the hippogriff beat his wings to remain airborne.

"He's there!" Eponine said, spotting Sirius as they rose up beside the window.

Sirius looked up and Eponine saw his grey-blue eyes widen with surprise. He leapt from the floor with tears in his eyes.

"_Bombarda!_" Hermione said, waving her wand.

The door burst open.

"How…how…?" Sirius said weakly, staring at the hippogriff.

"Get on…" Eponine said. "We don't have much time. You've got to get out of here—the dementors are coming—Fudge has gone to get them."

Black followed his daughter and they ran towards where Buckbeak was standing. In seconds he managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak's back and pull himself onto the hippogriff behind Hermione. He laughed the whole time they were flying.

Soon, they flew down towards the courtyard. The fountain was running quietly. He stopped to look at Eponine.

"I'll be forever grateful for this," he said. "To the three of you." He turned to Eponine, kneeling at her. "I was worried I would never see you again, 'Ponine," he whispered with tears.

"Dad," she said. "We'll always be a family, no matter how far apart we are. A great man once said that the ones who love us never really leave us."

Sirius smiled; he was the happiest man on earth, knowing he had his daughter back in his life.

"Will I see you again?" she asked.

"We'll see each other. We'll make arrangements…somehow. As of now, my life will be too unpredictable. Promise me this: once you've been released and you're in a safe place, write to me."

Eponine nodded. "I will."

He smiled with tears welling up in his eyes. "You've grown up so much, 'Ponine, I'm very proud of you." He paused to look at her again. "I expect you're tired of hearing this, but you look so much like your mother."

Eponine smiled.

"Except your eyes. They're just…"

"Like yours."

Sirius smiled, cupping his daughter's face and stroking her long hair. She looked at her Dad's face, his eyes sparkled.

"Before I go, you will need this." He handed her papers from his pocket. "This is your ticket to your freedom. Give these papers to Fudge and Dumbledore. They'll guarantee your freedom. I spoke to Dumbledore beforehand. He promised me to release you from domestic servitude."  
"Thanks, Dad," she said.

She hugged him.

"Dad, you'd better go," she said. "You don't have much time."

He nodded and hugged his daughter.

"I love you, 'Ponine," he whispered.

"I love you too, Daddy," she said.

Black turned to Harry, his godson and they spoke for a few moments. Soon, he went towards Hermione.

"Miss Granger," he said. "I made arrangements to have my daughter stay with you for the summer. My daughter is going to need to catch up for the next term."

Hermione smiled. "I promise you she'll be all caught up by the time the next term starts."

He went to Buckbeak and mounted him. To Hermione, he said, "You really are the brightest witch of your age."

He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels, taking one last look at his daughter, and the hippogriff flapped its mighty wings and they took off into the air…he and his rider became smaller and smaller as Eponine gazed after them…then, a cloud drifted across the moon…they were gone…


	10. Released

Chapter Ten

Released

The chime from the clock broke the silence between the three of them.

"Harry! 'Ponine!" said Hermione. "We have to go."

They ran up the stairs towards the castle. Eponine heard the chimes, sweating and worried that they wouldn't make it in time, but she decided to push those thoughts out of her head. They _would_ make it! Her dad would be gone and they would be back at the hospital wing.

They heard voices: it sounded like Fudge and Snape. They were walking quickly along the corridor at the foot of the staircase. They hid in the broom closet.

"…only hope Dumbledore's not going to make difficulties," Snape was saying. "The Kiss will be performed immediately?"

"This whole Black affair has been highly embarrassing. I can't tell you how much I've looked forward to informing the _Daily Prophet_ that we've got him at last…I daresay they'll want to interview you, Snape…and once his young daughter's back in her right mind, I'll expect she'll want to tell the _Prophet_ how you saved her and her friend, Harry…"

Eponine clenched her teeth. She caught a glimpse of Snape's smirk as he and Fudge passed their hiding place. Their footsteps died away. They waited a few moments to make sure they'd really gone and they started to run in the opposite direction towards the hospital wing.

They had reached the end of the corridor of the hospital wing entrance. They saw Dumbledore with his head stuck in the door, speaking to the other Harry and Hermione inside. Soon, he closed the door and walked towards them.

"Well?" said Dumbledore.

"He's free," Eponine said. "We did it."

"Well done. I think…" he listened intently for any sound within the hospital wing. "Yes, I think you've gone too…get inside…I'll lock you in…"

Harry, Hermione and Eponine went inside and saw themselves disappear.

"How'd you get there?" said Ron. "I was talking to you there. And now you're there."

"What's he talking about?" said Hermione.

"I don't know," said Harry, shrugging.

"Honestly, Ron," said Eponine, laughing. "How can somebody be in two places at once?"

As the lock clicked behind them, Harry, Hermione and Eponine crept into their own beds. A moment later, Madam Pomfrey came striding in.

"Did I hear the headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my patients now?"

She was in a very bad mood. Harry, Eponine and Hermione thought it best to accept their chocolate very quickly. Madam Pomfrey stood over them, making sure they ate it. They could hardly swallow; they were waiting, listening, their nerves jangling…and then, as they both took a fourth piece of chocolate from Madam Pomfrey, they heard a distant roar of fury echoing from somewhere above them…

"What was that?" said Madam Pomfrey in alarm.

Now they could hear angry voices, growing louder and louder. Madam Pomfrey was staring at the door.

"Really—they'll wake everybody up! What do they think they're doing?"

Eponine was trying to hear what the voices were saying. They were drawing nearer…

"He must have Disapparated, Severus. We should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out…"

"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!" Snape roared. Eponine trembled slightly, knowing how angry Snape could get. "YOU CAN'T APPARATE _OR_ DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS—HAS—SOMETHING—TO—DO—WITH—POTTER AND BLACK!"

"Severus—be reasonable—Harry and Eponine have been locked up…"

BAM!

The door of the hospital wing burst open.

Fudge, Snape and Dumbledore came striding in the ward. Dumbledore alone looked calm. Indeed, he looked as though he was quite enjoying himself. Fudge appeared angry. But Snape was beside himself.

"OUT WITH IT, YOU TWO!" he said. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Professor Snape!" shrieked Madam Pomfrey. "Control yourself!"

"See here, Snape, be reasonable," said Fudge. "The door's been locked, we just saw…"

"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape howled, pointing at Eponine and Harry. His face was twisted; spit was flying from his mouth.

"Calm down, man!" Fudge barked. "You're talking nonsense!"  
"YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER OR BLACK!" shrieked Snape. "THEY DID IT, I KNOW THEY DID IT!"

"That will do, Severus," said Dumbledore, quietly. "Think about what you're saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these children left their beds?"

"Of course not!" said Madam Pomfrey, bristling. "I would've heard them."

"Well, there you have it, Severus," said Dumbledore, calmly. "Unless you're suggesting that Harry, Eponine and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further."

Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly shocked by his behavior, to Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling behind his glasses. Snape whirled about, robes swishing behind him and stormed out of the ward.

"Fellow seems quite unbalanced," said Fudge, staring after him. "I'd watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore."

"Oh, he's not unbalanced," said Dumbledore quietly. "He's just suffered a severe disappointment."

"He's not the only one!" puffed Fudge. "The _Daily Prophet's_ going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that hippogriff's escape to get out and I'll be a laughingstock! Well…I'd better go and notify the Ministry…"

"And the dementors?" said Dumbledore. "They'll be removed from the school, I trust?"

"Oh yes, they'll have to go," said Fudge, running his fingers distractedly through his hair. "Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on an innocent boy and girl…completely out of control…no, I'll have them packed off to Azkaban tonight…"

"Before you go, don't you have something to give to the Minister, Eponine?" said Dumbledore.

"Oh, yes," she said. "Minister? Might I have a word with you?"

"Yes, yes, of course, Miss Black."

"My father has asked you to give you this. He gave this to me after I spoke to him in the tower." She held out the papers.

Fudge gingerly picked up the papers and read them. One was the birth certificate and the other was a note, which he read:  
"_I, Sirius Black, am the father of Eponine Amaryllis Jane Black and request that my daughter be released from domestic servitude. I, Sirius Black, request my daughter stay with Hermione Granger until further notice._"

"Well," said Fudge. "Your father may be a criminal on the run, but nevertheless, he did present a written statement and proof of parentage, therefore we will honor his requests."

"You mean…I'm free?" she asked.

"Yes. You're free to go."

Eponine looked at Dumbledore who smiled as well. Eponine smiled back.

"Thank you, sir," she said.

Eponine went to Lupin's office to gather her letters and her music box. She saw that his office door was already opened and faint music from his record player was playing. He had already packed most of his things. The grindylow's empty tank stood next to his battered old suitcase, which was open and nearly full. Lupin's back was turned to her.

"Hello, 'Ponine," said Lupin.

Eponine's eyes were wide with surprise.

"I saw you coming," he said, pointing to the map. Eponine nodded her head as to say 'oh'. Eponine stared at Lupin's tired face, which looked terrible. "I've looked worse, believe me."

"You've been sacked."

"No. No, I resigned, actually."

"Resigned? Why?"

"Well, it seems that somebody let slip the nature of my condition. This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving and parents will not want…well, someone like me teaching their children."  
"But, Dumbledore…"

"He has already risked enough on my behalf," said Lupin. "Besides, people like me are…well, let's just say I'm used to it by now."

He waved his wand and his trunk's items went inside and it shut itself. Eponine looked rather sad.

"Why do you look so miserable, 'Ponine?" he asked. "You've been released and you will be going to school. Aren't you glad?"  
"None of it matters," Eponine said. "Pettigrew escaped. I won't be with my father as I had hoped."

"Didn't _any_ of it matter? It made all the difference in the world. You uncovered the truth. You saved an innocent man from a terrible fate. And what's more, you've finally found your father and he had you released. It made a great deal of a difference." He paused, bringing his briefcase towards his luggage. "Since your father owned this map, I will give this to you." He pointed to the Marauder's Map.

"Thank you," Eponine said. "But, no. I have no need for it. I've lived in this castle long enough to know every part of it. I insist that it goes to Harry. Maybe we'll share it, but he has more need for it than I do."

Lupin smiled. "You definitely have some of your mother in you," said Lupin. "She was a generous and kind young lady. I'll make sure Harry would get this. So now I'll say goodbye, 'Ponine. I'm sure we'll meet again sometime."

She nodded. She ran to him and wrapped her thin arms around him and hugged him. Stunned, but yet happy, he hugged back.

"Thank you," she said. "Thank you for being so kind to me and for finding my father."

Lupin could've sworn he felt tears well up in his eyes, but blinked them away.

"You're very welcome," he said.

Soon, Eponine packed all her things, which were so few that they all fit into one small paper bag: her father's letters, her music box, and the hair comb. She stepped down the stairs from the attic and walked towards the Great Hall. Harry, Hermione and Ron were there.

"Eponine," said Hermione. "This came for you."  
Eponine saw the letter and recognized the handwriting. She opened it:

_My dearest Eponine, _

_Buckbeak and I are in hiding. I won't tell you where, in case this owl falls in the wrong hands. I have some doubt about his reliability, but he was the best I could find, and he did seem eager for the job. _

_I believe the dementors are still searching for me, but they haven't a hope of finding me here. I am planning to allow some Muggles to get a glimpse of me soon, a long way from Hogwarts, so that the security on the castle will be lifted._

_There is something I never got around to telling you during our brief meeting. It was I who sent you the music box for your birthday and the hair comb for Christmas. Lupin took the orders for me. I used your name but told them to take it out from my own Gringotts vault. Since I will be on the run, I have asked Gringotts to give you full access to my vault since I trust you well enough to know you are a responsible young lady. _

_I am enclosing something else for you, which I think you will make sure your new year at Hogwarts more enjoyable. I've written to Hermione Granger, asking if you could stay with her. Naturally, she agreed and she's also agreed to help you tutor you over the summer so you are all caught up. I'm sure you'll do fine and I hope you do. You are indeed an intelligent, young lady and I am very proud of you._

_Also, I've written to Dumbledore about seeing each other so we can have a relationship. He will make sure that our meetings are secret and secure. We will meet on the weekends in Hogsmeade. If you ever need me, send word. Your owl will find me. _

_Dad_

Eponine looked inside the envelope. There was another piece of parchment in there. She read it through quickly and felt suddenly warm and contented.

_I, Sirius Black, Eponine's father, hereby give her permission to visit Hogsmeade on weekends._

Eponine smiled, unable to speak. She was the happiest girl on the planet.  
"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"I'll be going to Hogsmeade on weekends," Eponine said.

"That's great," said Hermione. She held up her books. "Are you ready to start catching up?"

"Oh, yes!" Eponine said. "We can start on the train when we're going home!"

Hermione smiled, happy to see that her new student was so eager to learn. While they sat on the train on the way back to London, Eponine absorbed herself in the books, shutting out the world around her. As soon as they reached London, they got off Platform 9 ¾, everyone was staring at the thin, dirty, ragged girl with grey-blue eyes and blonde hair. Hermione's parents were already waiting there.

"Hello, Hermione," said Mr. Granger. "How was school?"  
"Just fine," she said.

"So, you must be Eponine, Sirius Black's daughter?" said Mrs. Granger.

"Yes, I am," she said, smiling.

"Oh, dear," said Mrs. Granger. "What a terrible state you're in! What happened?"

"I was in servitude for a while," Eponine admitted.

Mrs. Granger only smiled. "Not to worry, we'll get you some new clothes, dear."

"Thank you," Eponine said, gratefully. "Do you want me to do anything else? Do you want me to cook and clean?"

"No, no," said Mr. Granger. "That's not necessary. You're a guest in our house."

"Perhaps we should stop for a bite to eat," said Hermione.

"Of course!" Mrs. Granger said, smiling. "You must be terribly hungry."

Eponine nodded silently, smiling. As they walked down the streets of London, everyone stared at her. Eponine didn't mind; she got stares all the time. She just followed the Grangers down the street and they shopped for new clothes for Eponine. . Eponine liked how the new clothes felt on her skin; she had been so used to wearing tatters for so long that the new feel of clothes felt a bit strange, yet in a good way to her. They were soft, clean and warm…a feeling she hadn't felt in so long. Once they were done shopping, the lady who rung up her new clothes was kind enough to let Eponine wear her new clothes.

After they were done shopping, Mr. Granger took them to a fancy restaurant and Eponine ordered a steak and ate until she was full. It was nice to have a large, hot, filling meal for once.

Soon, the Grangers drove home and Eponine took a bath; it felt so much nicer to be clean since she seldom took a bath while she was at Hogwarts. Her skin felt like it could breathe at last after all the filth and dead skin was scrubbed off; the soap smelled like roses. After her bath, she noticed that her skin was glowing with the sheen of a pearl and her hair shone brighter.

The Grangers set up Eponine in the guest bedroom, which had a large mattress that had feather pillows and comforter, which smelled fresh and clean. All of it was too nice that she was sure this was a dream. She lied in bed, looking at the ceiling, enjoying the softness and cleanness of the sheets that she was sure to die from all the niceness that was surrounding her. She sighed as she closed her eyes, looking forward to a new day…


End file.
